Childhood Hell
by Kare Uta
Summary: AU.Boris always thought that girls were too weak for the abbey but what happens when he finds one girl suitable for the abbey to train. She gives a little hope to some of the other kids as she plans to escape and love blooms between her and her room mate
1. A new girl? At the abbey?

**A/N: **Hey everyone, since my other fic got deleted I am posting this fic much earlier then I planed. I am trying my best on this one; I think that through my fics I have gotten a bit better in my writing so I am trying to make a good fic that by the end I will be proud of. So here it is. Oh, this s back in the time of the abbey, I don't know what year that would be but Tala s ten years old. So let's begin.

Childhood Hell

Chapter 1

A ten year old girl stood leaning against a wall in Boris' office. She had mid back length pale purple hair and wore a dark blue top and black trousers and boots she also wore a phoenix shaped necklace around her neck that seemed to glow in the dim room and had a grey backpack on the floor by her side.

The girl lifted her head and opened her eyes to reveal a dark deep blue eye colour, they seemed to hold disgust toward her surroundings, she turned her head to look at Boris who was sitting in his chair behind a desk. He had been watching her every movement ever since he had sent a guard to get her room mate. She looked at him; her eyes held hatred and if looks could kill then Boris would have been dead the second she laid her icy glare on him. There was a hard knock on the door and Boris broke their staring contest "Come in" he said in a dull voice.

The girl turned to look at the door when at Boris' command the door opened, she watched as a boy her age walked in followed by the guard that had brought her into Boris' office earlier that day. The boy stood in front of Boris waiting to see what he had been called for and hadn't noticed the girl that stood by the wall.

"Tala, this is Serenity and is our new boarder here" Boris said gesturing to the girl who had just stepped out of the shadows in the corner of the room.

Tala gasped at the name when he heard it, he wasn't exactly sure if he had heard right, Serenity was a girl's name, he had to see for himself; he turned his head to see the girl, she still had her arms crossed and held a blank stare.

"She is your new room mate and you will help her get settled in and explain to her the routines" Boris continued telling Tala.

"Yes sir" Tala said as he looked back at him.

"If you have any questions ask him" Boris said walking to Serenity. Serenity nodded and picked up her backpack and swung it over her shoulder. "Take her to her room and then she starts training" Boris said as he turned his head to the right to look at Tala. Boris walked back to his chair and sat back down, "Dismissed" he said with a wave of his hand.

Tala nodded and gestured for the girl to follow him; the girl sighed and followed him out of the room. They walked for what seemed like forever through the stony hallways and finally Tala stopped at a door and quickly opened it. They both walked in and Serenity looked around the room, there wasn't much in the room; three beds, a dressing table and a door to the right of the room which she took was a bathroom.

**---15 minutes later---**

Serenity stood in the middle of the training room that Tala had led her to, she looked around the room, the ceiling was high and there was a huge dish in the centre of the room, apart from that the room was empty though she couldn't see what there was in the dark corners of the room. Serenity took out her beyblade from her pocket and stared at it for a while; the blade was an icy blue colour with a dark blue colour. She attached it to her dark blue launcher and waited to start.

Tala started to teach her the daily training routines, Serenity learnt almost everything with ease but she had gotten very tired from too much training and after more long hours of training she collapsed from exhaustion, she was tired and Tala couldn't really blame her. He slowly walked over to her to see if she could continue but Serenity was far too weak to even move even though she yelled at herself to get up when she heard foot steps getting closer but at the time her body just shut down; disallowing her to do anything.

Tala walked back to Boris' office and after knocking once he was allowed in, "Sir, Serenity has made great progress but now she needs some rest; she is unable to continue for tonight." Tala informed.

"Then she needs to be punished" Boris said simply.

"No," Tala blurted, "She is just not used to this type of training and just needs rest, I assure…" he had tried to continue but got cut off.

"I think you're letting your emotions get in the way, she gave up and I do not tolerate it, she needs to punished or she will never learn" Boris interrupted, angry that Tala would even try to defend her.

Tala was at a loss of words; he couldn't really argue or else his fate would be the same. Boris got up and pushed Tala aside and left the room. He walked to the training room and locked the door behind him. He picked up Serenity and put her lying on her stomach on a table which until now was hidden in the shadows in the corner of the room. He opened a draw that was attached to the table and took out what looked like a whip; he turned back to Serenity who still lay unmoving on the table but not for very long because Boris hit her hard across her back with the whip.

Serenity quickly sat up with a start as she screamed, she was breathing heavily and every breath seemed pained, she held back tears threatened to fall but she knew that even if one tear slipped then it would probably be enough to get her killed.

"Shut up," Boris yelled at her, "That's what happens when you give up, now leave" he continued angrily.

Serenity winced as she pushed herself off the high table and almost fell on her face but managed to catch herself in mid-fall. She walked slowly to the door, still heavily breathing, she placed her hand on the back of her bleeding shoulder, she opened the door to see Tala's icy blue eyes staring back at her, "You ok?" he asked with some worry in his voice.

Serenity looked at the blood on her hand before nodding slightly, her vision started to blur a little at the movement but managed to keep herself from falling over. Tala helped Serenity back up to their room; Tala quickly went to the bathroom and came back to Serenity with things to tend to the whip mark on her back. Serenity held down the front of her top, while Tala lifted the back to tend to the cut properly even though the back of the top was ripped. Serenity winced and hissed slightly when a cold liquid touched the open cut and when a piece of cloth scratched against the red stinging area surrounding it. Tala looked at her to see if she was ok but she just signalled him to continue so he did, being more careful not to hurt her.

When he finished he stepped away from her not really being sure of what she would say or how she would react. During training she hadn't even said one word to him but just the occasional cold look but now that he thought about it she had never said a word to him, he didn't even know what her voice sounded like. Until now, "Thank you" she said quietly, "But I need to ask…why did you help me?"

Tala was a little taken aback by her question and by the kindness in her voice but answered simply, "It's easier to have someone tend to those wounds that to try and do them yourself"

Serenity softened and gave him a sympathetic look, "I am sorry that you had to go through that on your own" she said just above a whisper as she thought about how hard it must have been for him to live like this with no help from anyone.

Tala just shrugged, "Doesn't really matter anymore, I got used to the loneliness besides at least I have you to talk to now"

Serenity nodded, "I am also sorry for the way I acted towards you earlier, it's just…with both guards and Boris watching my every movement I couldn't really be kind to you since that would in danger us both so I thought that I would act cold toward you n front of them and that we could start over when we wouldn't get beaten for socializing" she explained before she stood up and smiled a little, "So…I'm Serenity from Japan" she introduced as she held out her hand.

Tala smiled too, "Tala from…right here" he said laughing a little as he shook her hand. "Why don't you go change first, we need to be downstairs for dinner soon" he said when he realised what time it was.

"Sure…thanks" Serenity said nodding, she picked up her backpack and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Tala walked to his bed and jumped onto the window sill that was just above it, he sat on the window sill leaning his back against the window frame and watched the pure white snow outside and thought about how sweetly Serenity had acted and glad that she was as cold and heartless as she looked. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the bathroom door opening, he turned his head and what he saw almost made his jaw drop.

Serenity was wearing a loose pale blue gown, that just went past her knees and the sleeves elegantly slipped off her slender shoulders. She had let her hair loose and it just slipped over her shoulders. She put her bag on the floor by her bed and then looked u at him, "Bathroom is free" she said.

Tala nodded and jumped off the window sill and walked to the bathroom. Serenity lay on her stomach on her bed, she was sure what life at the abbey was going to be like but knew it wasn't going to be very good but she also knew that she wasn't alone and even if she were on her own she had faced far worse before. She felt really tired but knew that she had to show up for dinner or else Boris would have her head. She closed her eyes thinking that she would just rest and not fall asleep. She sighed when she heard the bathroom door opening again, she just wanted to sleep or at least rest but she pulled together enough energy to sit up. Tala had just come out of the bathroom wearing dark blue trousers and a white top. "We better get downstairs" he said walking to the door and opening it. Serenity nodded and jumped off the bed and raced out the door and waited for Tala outside the door wile he closed the door and they both ran down the cold stony hallways to the dining room downstairs.

Serenity and Tala had just stopped in front of a large door; they walked into the large room and as if on queue all the other kids turned to look at them, well…not really, they wanted to see if the rumors were true about a girl being at the abbey so they all looked at Serenity. Tala turned to see Serenity's reaction to the stares; she had tensed up slightly at being the centre of attention, quickly her eyes seemed to change colour, they turned an icy blue colour which gave her a sharp look. Tala shook off the sharp glare and walked to the end of the table where the older kids stayed with Serenity following behind. They sat at the end of the long table, every kid in the room still staring at Serenity, she held her head in her hand as she leant against the table, she closed her eyes and when she opened them again all the boys were still staring at her especially the older ones. Serenity rolled her eyes at the site, "Ok, let's work something out…if any of your eyes go lower than my neck then I will break all your necks." She said coldly as she leant back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. At seeing all the anger in her eyes all the boys turned their heads away from her with a slight blush creeping to some of their pale faces.

A few minutes later Boris walked in and sat at the head of the table, he introduced Serenity and quickly left the room to continue his own work leaving all the kids to eat their supper. Serenity and Tala finished their supper quickly and got up to walk back to their room when three of the older kids stood in their way, the leader who Tala had pointed out was Jeremy walked in front of Serenity and grinned, Serenity looked at him blankly as he placed a finger under her chin, Jeremy lifted her head up slightly, he moved closer to her but she just grabbed his wrist and pushed him away, Jeremy stood up straight again and walked to her with a look that seemed to be threatening Serenity, she didn't seemed fazed by the glare, she just crossed her arms again and walked past him and his crew. Just when she got past them a hand grabbed her arm and squeezed it tightly, Serenity turned round to see the other kid that stood by Jeremy as Jeremy stood forward and spoke when he knew he had her full attention, "You may not know this but I am leader around here, everyone has obeyed me while we have been here, I expect you to obey like everybody else around here or if Boris and the guards don't kill you then I will, understood?" he said.

Serenity smiled, "You really think I am afraid of you?" she asked not really expecting an answer, "Well let me tell you something, I obey no one, I don't follow rules instead I break them and create new ones to fit my own purposes and if anyone kills anyone around here it would be my killing you." She said coldly.

"Is that a threat?" Jeremy asked trying not to show any sign of the great fear he was feeling. He had under estimated this girl and that was only his first mistake.

"You don't even want to know." Serenity finished coldly. She sent one quick glare before walking past him, victory was hers, she knew it and Jeremy knew it. She seemed to have the upper hand. Tala had just watched as they had spoke, not really sure if this cold arrogant girl was his same kind and gentle room mate. He followed her quickly before another argument broke out between the abbey bully and this girl he just met. They silently walked back up to their room, trying to avoid any more fights for the night, they walked into the cold room and Tala lay in bed quietly not being sure if he should talk to Serenity since she might still be a little annoyed, he watched as she walked over the dressing table and looked in the mirror that hung over it, she turned her back to the mirror and pulled down the back of her night dress to see a bit of blood seep through the gauze.

Serenity sighed when she saw the blood; she fixed her night dress again trying to forget about the blood and the pain. Tala had seen the blood and offered to tend to them again but Serenity refused anymore help, saying that he has already done enough for her but when she refused she had refused kindly instead of arrogantly. Serenity sighed again and got into her bed; she turned uncomfortably on her stomach again and closed her eyes. She kept her pain to herself, she had for a while now and this pain seemed no different to her; she would get through it, she thought about how she would do it on her own but her thoughts drifted to think about how much she was worrying her room mate. "I'm fine" she said softly, but far too tired to open her eyes.

Tala's eyes widened slightly, not sure as to how she knew that he was still looking at her and that he was still a bit worried. _'What? Does she read minds or something?'_ he thought confusedly.

"Not really" Serenity said smiling when she heard Tala sit up quickly in his bed. Tala was just about to ask how she knew but Serenity beat him to it, "How did I know? I can just tell…I don't know how to explain it but I just know how someone feels sometimes; when they are worried they have this certain look in their eyes"

"But your eyes weren't even open" Tala reasoned.

"I know that, but still people have a certain feeling coming from them when they feel certain emotions, like I felt your worry and how I felt Jeremy's fear when we were in the dining room, if it weren't for his fear of me I would have probably scared the hell out of the guy but then that should teach him not to be such a jerk" Serenity explained, opening her eyes, they seem to hold kindness again; they kept changing, it was like all her emotions could be seen in her eyes and only in her eyes.

"He is a jerk, it has been like that for ages, he always thought that he was better then the rest of us" Tala said lying on his back.

"He is no better then anyone else here, otherwise he wouldn't still be here" Serenity said simply.

"Very true" Tala agreed, "Maybe with you around…things might change" he thought out loud.

"Yeah, maybe things might just change for the better." Serenity said smiling a little. _'Or for the worse'_ she thought. "How bad have kids gotten hurt around here?" she asked out of curiosity.

Tala was a little hesitant in answering at first but thought that she should know the truth of what has happened before her, "Kids have gotten hurt a lot, they've been punished for every little mistake they've made, one kid…actually…got killed after many failed attempts of learning a new technique" he said with fear in his voice, he wasn't sure about how Serenity was going to react to finding out a kid younger than her got killed in the same training room she was in earlier that day.

Serenity's eyes widened, _'They killed a kid? Who do they think they are? How could they do that, he was just a kid.'_ Tears welled up in Serenity's eyes; she couldn't stand the thought of a little kid being beaten to death. She noticed a tear quickly stream down her cheek and hit her pillow, she gasped and quickly wiped her eyes. She felt sick to her stomach, even though she had felt deep sadness before; this seemed to break her apart inside. She sat up in bed and held her head in her hands, covering her face, as a couple more tears streamed down her face, _'What am I dealing with? Mommy, I really need your help through this' _She thought and prayed.

Tala saw her as she placed her head in her hands, he wasn't sure what to do at the time, he had never been in this type of predicament, he slowly stepped out of bed and went and sat next to her on her bed, he slowly placed a hand on her shoulder being careful not to touch the cut on her back that had snacked its way up to her shoulder. Serenity flinched slightly at the hand on her skin, she looked back at Tala who looked at her with a look of hope, she pulled herself together and wiped away all her tears. She felt really tired again and all the emotional stress was only making her feel worse.

Tala got off her bed and stood by her bed till Serenity laid back down and pulled the thin covers over herself. He walked back to his bed and got under the covers, "Good night" he whispered to her before reaching to switch off the light.

"Good night" Serenity whispered back.

**---Next Morning---**

Tala had woke up very early that morning and had already changed, but Serenity was still asleep, he sighed a little and walked over to her and gently took her by the shoulders and shook her slightly telling her to wake up until she finally did. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up into his eyes as she sat up a little. "What time is it?" She asked rubbing the sleep out of her tired eyes.

"About time to wake up" Tala said stepping away from her, "You better get changed before Boris finds out you're still in bed." He suggested.

Serenity got out of bed and picked up her backpack from near the bed and ran into the bathroom to get changed. She came out a couple of minutes later wearing, the same outfit she had wore the day before but she had kept her hair down today, she placed her bag on the ground and kneeled down to find her beyblade, she picked up her icy blue blade and pocketed it quickly and attached the launcher to the back of her jeans. Serenity nodded indicating that she was ready; they both walked out of the room and went to the training room.

Serenity was determined to do better than she did yesterday, she took out her launcher and her blade again and after setting up she went over all she had done the day before. Her blade started to spin in mid air and quickly crashed down into the centre of the dish, breaking the dish, a thin layer of ice covered what was left of the dish; her blade skated around on the ice before Serenity called for her blade and it jumped into her hand. She looked at the centre where an ice blue phoenix gleamed in the dim lighting. Serenity clutched her blade tightly in her hand and the phoenix changed to its bright red colour. She turned back to look at Tala who had been watching her practice, "Was that any good?" she asked quietly.

Tala took in the damage that Serenity's blade had created and then nodded at her affective attacks. "How did you do all that?" he asked pointing to the dish and the layer of ice that slowly became water.

Serenity crossed her arms and looked at the ground, "Boris is teaching kids not to show emotions but my attacks are a reflection of my emotions, my emotions play a big role in my attacks, if one emotion is out of place then it is enough for me to lose" she said in almost a cold manner but kept a tone that Tala would know that she wasn't angry or anything.

Tala had never thought about using emotions as attacks and in the abbey it was unheard of since most of the kids there became cold and never showed emotions yet this girl created a way to hide emotions but to express herself all the same, like she had said the previous night she creates her own rules yet she still manages to keep in line and apart from passing out the other day she hasn't done anything to upset Boris.

'_By finding out what happens around here…it was enough to fuel my emotions…my anger…I swear that no one else will get hurt while I'm around' _Serenity thought as she swore to keep everyone safe.

After a couple of minutes they moved over to a punching bag and Serenity started punching away at it fiercely, she hadn't wore of any gloves and moved away from it a couple minutes later, with her hands red with a couple of red bleeding cuts and just wiped her bleeding hands in her jeans and watched as Tala started to punch at the punching bag himself but not as hard or fierce as Serenity had. Tala moved away from the punching bag a few minutes later and wiped a few beads of sweat of his forehead and looked at his stinging red hands that matched Serenity's though there was no sign of blood on his. He waited a while till he got the feeling back in his hands before taking out his blade. He launched it onto the dark stony floor since the dish was thrashed, his blade just circled his feet until Serenity launched her blade and a one-on-one battle started out, they both attacked each other head on, they hit each other hard, Serenity pushed Tala's blade against a wall but his blade managed to push her away from him. They both hit each other one last time and as quickly as the battle started it was over, they called their blades back to them they both took a deep breath as they leant against the cold stone walls.

"Bravo" A voice said as he clapped. Serenity and Tala looked up to see that the voice belonged to Boris; he had apparently been watching their little bey-battle along with a bunch of other kids. He stepped forward and Tala and Serenity straightened up as he walked in front of them, "An excellent first battle between you two, I must admit that it was good but after more training it will be much better" he said looking from Serenity to Tala and then turned his head to the right, "Line up" he ordered.

At his command all the other kids ran to Tala and Serenity and lined up next to them according to height and then started a whole boring speech, "Maybe, you can all learn something from each other, most of you have been trained by me from the very beginning but Serenity here…" he said as he placed a hand on her wounded shoulder, the bastard knew that it was her wounded shoulder but pressed his hand onto it harder none the less, "She has natural talent and does not need some of the training that you do, she has only been here a day and has made progress, she does not show much emotion and I didn't even need to explain to her what happens when someone shows emotions." He said moving his hand off her shoulder as Serenity tried not to show pain when he brushed his hand along the cut on the back of her shoulder. "I will leave you all to get back to your training" he sad before walking out of the training room.

The second he left and everyone moved out of alignment they all glared at Serenity, who just crossed her arms and glared back at anyone who got too close. She ignored everyone else and walked back to the punching bag and took out all her anger and pain out on it instead of taking it out on herself which is what she would usually do either that or she would take her anger out on someone else and she really didn't want to get into a fight with any one of the other kids. She kicked the bag with all her might and the bag broke off its hinges and flew across the room, smashing into a wall almost hitting on of the boys who just managed to step out of the way. "Hey, what the hell is wrong with you, what were you trying to do?" The boy yelled angrily.

Serenity crossed her arms and slowly walked over to him while speaking, "I'm really sorry" she said, even though it was true she had spoken to him in a slight cold tone.

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" The boy shot back angrily.

"It's not like I hit you intentionally or anything, it was an accident" Serenity said raising her voice at the older kid.

"Well, accidents shouldn't happen, now should they bitch?" The boy countered moving in on Serenity.

For Serenity it was the final straw, her hands were still bleeding from beating the punching bag and could only feel a numb sensation in her hands but she balled her hands into fists and with one shot she punched the boy in the face, with one hit the boy got pushed back. Serenity looked at her hands in utter shock and realized what she had done, just when the boy was wiping a bit of blood from his mouth, he was about to punch her back but she just ran away, she ran out of the training room and up the stairs, she made every quick turn possible to avoid guards and to avoid any other boys who she would almost kill. She ran into her room and jumped on her bed as she buried her face in the pillow, she pulled back all the tears that had threatened her life. She sobbed a little and realized that Tala had been watching her and knew that she would have to face him later.

And the second she cleared her mind of all her problems, Tala opened the door and looked at her from a distance before slowly walking over to her, he lay a hand on her back and heard something from under, "I know I was out of line, come to gloat about it?" Serenity asked.

"No, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Are you?" Tala asked placing his hand higher up her neck.

"I'm fine" Serenity said sliding her hand between the pillow and her face and wiping away the tears from her eyes. She sat up again and looked at him, she looked down at her hands again which were still bleeding, pushed away from Tala and walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror that hung over the sink, she leaned her hands on the white sink staining it with her crimson blood. She rinsed her hands with cold water and quickly dried them in a towel and walked out of the room, Tala stood alone in the bathroom looking at the blood that Serenity had left on the sink. He pulled out a roll of bandages out of a small medicine cupboard and walked back to Serenity who had sat back down on her bed as she stared at the ground. He sat next to her on her bed and took her hand but she tried to pull away from him but he tightened his grip on her hand. She winced as his skin scraped against her battered hands, he loosened his grip on her when he felt her relax, he wiped more blood off her hands and bandaged them up for her.

Tala looked back up at her when he was done, he heard her whisper a thank you and just nodded, he got up again and put everything back in the bathroom and walked back to the bedroom. He sat on his bed opposite her, he wanted to ask her what was wrong but didn't want to upset her anymore than she already was so he thought he should ask some other time.

Serenity didn't say a word, she just got up, picked up her bag and went into the bathroom, she changed into her night gown and walked back into the bedroom and lay in bed to get some rest. She lay their for a couple of minutes not hearing Tala get off his bed and go to the bathroom and change. He came back out and noticed her still lying on her bed unmoving; he looked at her confusedly and noticed it looked like she wasn't even breathing. He hurriedly walked over to her and placed a hand on her bare shoulder; she felt very cold at the touch of his hand and she still didn't move, he shook her slightly being worried about her, she quickly sat up heavily breathing and she pushed Tala's hand off her as she brought her hand to her mouth and coughed a little. She stopped coughing and looked up at Tala's concerning eyes that always seemed to stare at her in the same way, "Are you ok?" He asked her.

Serenity smiled, "Since I arrived, how many times have you asked me that? I am fine." She said sweetly. As she sat up, she placed a hand on Tala's shoulder and pushed herself off the bed, she stood in front of him and took him by the hand and pulled him up. "Let's go, I want to get through this night quickly and in one piece." She said pulling him out the bedroom door and into the cold hallway; her bare feet touched the cold stony floor, she pulled Tala down the hall and they passed a window, Serenity stopped and looked out the glass window, she could see a beautiful sky of oranges, reds and purples. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she whispered.

"I never really noticed it, being in here for so long made me forget about the beautiful things outside this hell hole" Tala replied, as he looked outside too.

"I want to promise you something" Serenity said as she turned to look at him.

"What?" Tala asked turning to her.

"One day…we will leave this 'hell hole' and be free from this place forever" Serenity said as she smiled, promising that they would all leave someday and they would leave safely and she promised that she wasn't going to leave anyone behind like her family and friends had left her.

"It's not going to be easy or even possible" Tala said.

"Have a little hope, will you? Promise?" Serenity asked.

"Promise" Tala said after sighing.

Serenity smiled and then noticed the time and then dragged Tala by the hand downstairs before they were caught.

**A/N: **So…what did you think of it? I want honest constructive criticism please. I would like to know what you thought of the OC too please, I want to know what was going through your mind while reading. Please Review!


	2. What happened to you?

**A/N: **Hey everyone, ok this is the answer to an important question by Ray-Tiger-Cat, this is the review and question:

**Review: **I guess i'm the first person 2 review. ur writing is getting better by the way, u've improved since ur first fic. is this going to be TalaxSerenity? & how are they getting a hold od bandages n stuff? u'd think Boris would want them as miserable as possible. hope u get more people reading & reviewing!(& if this fic gets deleted, i'll be so mad, coz so many people r deleting& re-writng or reposting it makes it hard to follow a good story.)

**Q: **How did they get a hold of the bandages and stuff since Boris would want them as miserable as possible?

**A:** When I was writing the first chapter and the part about tending to wounds I thought that someone would ask how they got a hold of the bandages and stuff and it seems I was right and I am glad someone asked since it shows they gave it some thought (Hooray for Ray-Tiger-Cat) So I came out with an explanation for it; when I was studying about Ancient Rome in school my teacher had said that servants were always fed by their masters even though they were always slightly malnourished they were always fed for the reason that if they were never fed then they couldn't do their jobs well and so it is the same reason I gave to the story, they were given bandages so that they will be able to help themselves and so that will give them no excuse for not doing well during their training. In a way they are still miserable because they don't have proper medical care and often have to tend to wounds by themselves like Tala had said after tending to Serenity's wounds.

If they get hurt ever day but are still good bladers then Boris wouldn't want them to die. Take this example outside this fic; imagine that Tala got hurt every day but was still a great blader and was destined to be at the tournament and to try to win it (season 1) then by the time he came to the tournament he would be far too weak to battle so it proves that somehow they must have had something to tend to wounds with. I hope this answer was good enough because I had put a lot of thought into it.

**Chapter 2 **

Tala and Serenity walked into the dining room where most of the other kids were already seated and they sat down in their usual places. A few of the kids that had been in the training room with Tala and Serenity earlier kept looking at Serenity as if waiting for something to happen. Serenity closed her eyes trying to keep her anger under control and not letting it consume her like it did earlier. It was like the other kids knew that something was going to happen to her, of coarse they had seen her throw her temper tantrum but still that wasn't a good enough reason to look at her the way they did.

Serenity opened her eyes again and noticed them still staring at her but wasn't in the mood to glare or threaten anyone so just let her eyes drift to the empty plate in front of her. A few minutes later they had started eating and Serenity was the first to finish her dinner. She crossed her arms and leant back in her seat waiting for Tala to finish his food so they could leave since she didn't want to be called away by Boris. Bad luck struck her instantly since before Tala could finish eating a guard came up behind Serenity, grabbed her thin arm and squeezed it tightly in his grip. Serenity looked at him with a blank stare as he told her that Boris wanted to speak to her in his office.

'_So that's what all the stares were all about' _Serenity thought. She placed her hand on the guard's pulse and squeezed it tightly, breaking his hold on her as she pushed him off. The guard glared at her but Serenity just shook it off and sat up and was about to follow the guard when she heard snickering behind her, she turned back to them and glared sharply, once they stopped she was about to turn back to the guard but Tala's eyes caught her attention; they held some worry about leaving her to go to Boris by herself but Serenity just nodded with a look that told him that she was going to be fine on her own. She turned back and followed the guard out to Boris' office.

The guard opened the door to Boris' office and roughly pushed Serenity inside and closed the door. Serenity saw the door close behind her and then turned to Boris who was sitting behind his desk. _'Doesn't this guy ever get off his ass?' _Serenity asked thinking, _'He trains kids so you think he wouldn't be so lazy' _"You wanted to see me sir?" she asked taking one step forward still with her arms crossed.

"Yes Serenity; what happened in the training room today after I left?" Boris asked.

"It was a small argument" Serenity said simply, she hadn't dared to move but just thought that she would kept up a cold and heartless look for as long as she could.

"An argument over what?" Boris questioned again.

"Something was said by another boy and my anger just grew" Serenity explained in an icy tone. _'You should know a lot about growing anger' _she thought bitterly.

"Then next time your anger out on him in a bey-battle rather than starting a fist fight and running away" Boris yelled at her angrily as he stood up and slammed his hands on his desk emphasizing his anger into rage.

"Yes sir" Serenity said rolling her eyes but Boris didn't seem to notice because of the little light illuminating the room.

"I don't accept running away Serenity, don't let me catch you doing it again" Boris continued scolding angrily.

"Yes sir" Serenity said again bluntly though she wasn't really listening since she heard it all before and got tired of hearing it over and over so she just blocked it out.

"Dismissed" He said still in an angry tone but had lowered his voice as he sat back down.

Serenity turned to the door and had opened it just a jar before turning back to Boris, "May I take some of my anger out now?" she asked.

"If you must" Boris replied before turning back to some papers had had lying around on his desk.

Serenity nodded and quickly left the room. _'He was so lucky I didn't take my anger out at his head'_ She walked back to the dining room which was completely empty, she was glad because that meant that Tala had gone up to bed with out her. She walked to the training room and saw the newly refurbished dish where the old one used to be. She walked over to it and looked into its shiny surface. She heard footsteps in the distance and tensed up a little when she heard them getting closer. She looked up to see a guard walk in, "What do you want?" Serenity asked.

"Boris sent me to keep an eye on you" The guard replied coldly.

"Do as you wish" Serenity said while loading up her launcher and setting herself. She launched her blade and it landed perfectly in the centre of the dish. Her blade circled the dish with an amazing speed, in the process creating a tornado of wind and fire. Serenity squinted her eyes and her blade moved back to the centre of the dish, as before, ice appeared on the surface of the dish and a bright fire lit in the centre of her blade and an ice blue phoenix flew out of the blade's bit-chip.

The guard just watched as the bit-beast transformed into a young woman, she seemed as though she were made of ice since she was wearing a white gown which looked a lot like snow. Serenity raised her hand and made a fist and at her command her bit-beast spun around gracefully and before anyone could do anything there was a thick cloud of smoke and the sound of crashing stone.

When the smoke cleared the wall to the right of Serenity had been severely damaged with craters covering the thick stone. The guard got off his hands and knees and took in all the damage on the wall, then he turned back to the dish and what he saw almost seemed impossible to him. Serenity's blade remained spinning in the centre of the dish, no blade would still have enough power to spin after an attack like that but what shocked him the most was that the dish was in perfect condition without a scratch on it. He lifted his head to look at Serenity; she just stood there with her hands by her sides, she was just staring at her blade and she had a calm, peaceful look on her face, she held out her hand and her blade swiftly jumped into her hand. She watched as the goddess on the bit-chip turned back to a bright red phoenix. She smiled sweetly at her loyal bit-beast, she felt a slight pain starting from her feet and then noticed she was standing in the freezing water from her ice based attack.

Serenity clutched her blade tighter and walked out of the cold water and walked past the guard and out of the training room door. She walked down the cold hallways back to her room, she crossed her arms and gripped them tightly for extra warmth and stopped for a short rest and gently leaned her wounded back against the wall, and she looked down at her blade as her fingers curled around the cold metal. She smiled a little at her guardian, "You did great today Luna" Serenity whispered softly.

'_We did great today' _Luna corrected in Serenity's mind.

'_We? You did most of the work' _Serenity told her.

'_But you helped a lot too so it was a team effort' _Luna said and Serenity just mentally nodded in agreement. After a couple of seconds of silence, Luna decided to speak again, _'The boy…he seems nice and …caring, what do you think?' _she asked her Mistress.

'_Who? Tala? Yeah, I guess…I mean he has been great to me ever since I came, but I just…I just wish that Boris had given me my own room…I don't want Tala to get hurt because of me and…sharing a room with me just might get him hurt and I mean badly.' _Serenity replied with worry and fear for her room mate, she couldn't help but just fear for his own safety, his kindness was definitely not the kind of attitude she would have expected from him when she first arrived.

'_Why do you assume he will get hurt?' _Luna asked.

'_Haven't you noticed how kind he has been, his attitude here is punishable by death and I don't want him to get hurt trying to look out for me' _Serenity replied.

'_But…you must admit that you enjoy being cared for' _Luna said.

Serenity smiled a little, _'He is the only person who has ever cared for my well being, I forgot what it felt like to be cared for that…now I just push away any help but I don't mean to…I just don't know what to do sometimes that pushing away seems like the right thing to do at the time but I always regret it later' _She explained to her bit-beast as she ended in a slight frown.

Luna frowned slightly too at the thought of how her Mistress was feeling, _'Just try to trust him a little more and in time he may understand but…you do realize that one day you must tell him what happened or he will never be able to fully trust you if he knows that you don't fully trust him' _Luna said giving as much advice and support that she could, _'And you have me to help you, we have never parted once before and this is no different'_

'_Thanks Luna' _Serenity said smiling again.

'_Not at all a problem Mistress, now you better get back to your room before someone catches you' _Luna suggested sweetly.

Serenity agreed and pushed herself off the wall and walked quickly down the hall to get there without anyone noticing her being missing from her room. She placed a hand on the door knob and sighed preparing herself for an ear full from Tala but at least Boris knew were she was and getting in trouble with Boris was far more painful than getting in trouble with Tala, she hoped; she had never been on Tala's bad side and not telling him where she was probably was enough to get herself killed by the red head. She turned the cold handle and slowly pushed open the door, she walked in trying to be as quiet as possible when she thought that Tala was asleep since the bedroom light was off, leaving Serenity to find her way to her bed in the dark. Her eyes seemed to adjust a little to the darkness with some light shining from the moon outside, until she tripped on something and fell flat on her face. The light in the room quickly switched back on as soon as a thud was heard, Serenity groaned when she saw the light and then pushed herself up to a sitting position to see what she had tripped on. She saw that it was a towel bunched up in front of the door. "I thought that would get your attention" Tala said from behind her.

Serenity still sat on the ground but turned her head to look at Tala, "What are you doing still up?" she asked trying to keep her annoyance low since she knew that he was the one who purposely left the towel behind the door.

"Waiting for you" Tala replied standing up.

"Why? I was fine on my own" Serenity replied standing up and throwing the towel back at Tala.

"I just got worried, Boris isn't one to be trusted" Tala replied throwing the towel back in the bathroom.

"I kinda figured that out a while ago, thank you very much" Serenity said lying in bed and placing her beyblade under her pillow and pulling the covers over herself as she closed her eyes.

Tala just got back into bed and lay there for a few minutes, not bothering to turn off the light just yet, "So what did Boris want?" he asked turning on his side to look at Serenity and to see if she had any intentions of answering him.

"The usual, just yell about the things he doesn't accept and how I shouldn't have started a fist fight and ran away, I hate that guy" Serenity said lying on her back, opening her eyes.

"Haven't you noticed that he gets on everyone's nerves?" Tala asked smiling. "How bad was it with you?" he asked.

Serenity groaned and placed a hand over her eyes, "Let's just say he was extremely lucky that I didn't launch Luna at his head, though now that I think about it Luna would have enjoyed it as much as I would" She explained as she smiled a little and removed her hand away from her face at the thought of how much fun it would be to actually launch her blade at Boris.

"Luna?" Tala asked confusedly.

Serenity realized that she had never introduced Tala to Luna; she slid her hand under her pillow and pulled out her blue blade, she turned on her side and held it out so Tala could see her blade from his distance, "This is Luna my bit-beast and my closest friend" she said. Tala leaned forward to see the blade better and saw a small golden crescent moon on the forehead of a bright red feathery phoenix. The moon gleamed, Tala's eyes widening when he saw the light from the moon outside touch the crescent moon on the phoenix making it looked like Luna knew he was watching and as if she were replying to his stare. "I talk to her all the time since she always knows how I feel and she is always around when I need her, she has been my closest friend ever since I was little, she kind of reminds me of you in a way, since you're caring like she is" she said again.

Tala lowered his head slightly when he felt heat rising to his pale cheeks, "Thanks" he stammered quietly.

Serenity smiled, "Well it is true after all, I mean you've helped me a lot since I got here……and I must admit your kindness toward me was not one that I had expected from anyone" She said quietly as she placed Luna back under her pillow for safe keeping.

"I kinda wanted to treat you the way I wanted to be treated, to make sure that your time here will be a bit better than the way I have been living here on my own, since you had a better childhood so you being here might not change too much" Tala said laying his head on his arm.

Serenity sighed and closed her eyes, "You're right, life here won't change much for me, with or without you" she said softly.

"What do you mean?" Tala asked confusedly; he has been confused quite a lot ever since Serenity arrived.

Serenity spoke quietly again, "My life outside the abbey has been no better than it is now"

"What happened?" Tala asked, very interested in the conversation since he had been meaning to ask her about her life outside that abbey for a while.

'_You said I had to tell him sometime Luna, I think this might be a good time'_ Serenity thought before sighing again and starting her life story, "When I was younger my dad died and my mother hurt me a lot, she used to make me clean the house and I was never allowed to go out to play with friends or something and she always used to say bad things about them. She used to hit me a lot and I was never treated properly." She explained closing her eyes as she pulled back tears that had seemed to well up in her deep blue eyes.

"That's so sad" Tala muttered; he thought Serenity hadn't heard him but she had and smiled a little.

"But life changed from bad to not so bad, one night my mum was yelling at me and I yelled back at her and she kicked me and hurt my arm badly, after I just kicked her back since I had been practicing martial arts which gave me a slight advantage, I hurt her and ran out on her in the rain, I ran to a park and slipped in a puddle and passed out. I woke up in a hotel room and my arm was bandaged up, I couldn't move much and then a man came in and told me he wasn't going to hurt me; he was more than twice my size and it scared me a lot, he wanted to know more about me like where I was from, who I was and why I was out so late at night on my own. So I told him what happened since he wouldn't let me go till I told him. He said he was with the CIA and he was going to do something about me getting hurt all the time, after a while I was taken out of my mothers care, the man who had helped me, Mike bought me my own little apartment and I lived with a woman who he paid to prepare me food and to help me but Mike wasn't always around since he traveled a lot but he stayed in my apartment when he was in Japan." Serenity said sighing again at the thought of old times.

"What happened after that?" Tala asked curiously.

"Life was good, I enjoyed living on my own but after a while the woman stopped coming after a horrible day at school, I was told by a man that I would be coming and that I had to pack a bag, so I did but then he knocked me out and I ended up here" Serenity continued explaining. She opened her eyes to see the sympathetic look in Tala's eyes so she decided to move on to a different question to move the subject off herself, "How did your parents treat you?" she asked.

Tala's eyes widened slightly at the question being asked but thought that since she had told him her story then he should tell her his, "I never knew my parents…Boris told me they died when I was very young and have been here ever since I could remember" he explained quietly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you" Serenity said softly and worried about how Tala was feeling at the time.

Tala just shook his head a little in the position he was in as he stared at the ground, "Doesn't matter, I got used to it, being without them so long that it doesn't even matter to me anymore" he said still not taking his eyes off the ground.

Despite Tala's efforts to hide his emotions, Serenity could tell that he was lying to her, "That's not true, I know it isn't, a part of you wishes they were still around, am I right?" she asked getting out of bed and standing by his bed.

"You're wrong, I don't care about them and don't wish they where here, I didn't need them then and I don't need them now" Tala said in a slightly cold tone and glaring at Serenity angrily.

"I refuse to believe that, every one wants to be loved and you're no different, you haven't had love by any of your parents and you think you'll be fine on your own but if you keep saying you don't need them then you are only cheating yourself." Serenity said sitting down at the edge of the bed.

"How would you know how I feel?" Tala asked still in a cold tone but not bothering to look at her so he just kept his eyes closed.

"Because I've gone through it too, saying that you don't need them only makes things worse…everyone needs someone" Serenity whispered moving closer to him, she knew what it felt like not to be loved and she always felt an empty feeling in her heart because of it. She gripped his hand tightly and squeezed it tighter supportively and then pulled away from him when she knew he was going to be ok. She made sure he was asleep before moving off his bed and switching off the light and walking back to her bed in the pitch dark. She lay in bed and stared at his thin form with some light from the moon that hovered in the night sky. She looked up at the full moon outside, she sighed and closed her eyes as she tried to sleep and after a couple of minutes, sleep overcame her.

**---Next Morning---**

Serenity groaned when the sun light touched her skin, she placed her hand to her eyes to shield them from too much sun light when she turned her head to see if Tala had woken up yet; he hadn't, he had been up late the other night so she couldn't really blame him for sleeping in. She pushed herself out of bed and walked into the bathroom to get washed and changed. She came out of the bathroom and found Tala still asleep, she leaned against the door frame and just let him sleep for a little while longer and then moved closer to him to wake him up, she placed a hand on his shoulder and shook it gently as she told him to wake up. Tala groaned when he heard the loud voice ringing through his mind, "Hey, time to wake up" Serenity whispered moving away from him.

Tala wiped the sleep out of his eyes and got out of bed and went straight the bathroom, Serenity sat on his bed and looked out the window, she watched a guard walk around the yard outside, she shook it off and moved toward her bed and took Luna out from under her pillow. She stared at her blade, wanting to have a short conversation with her bit-beast, _'So did I explain well enough last night?' _she asked mentally.

'_You seemed very confident in telling him last night that was for sure' _Luna replied smiling.

'_He seemed like the right person to tell at the time and I don't want to keep it a secret from him' _Serenity continued.

'_I think you can trust him' _Luna said.

'_Yeah, I think so too but for now lets get through the day, don't any of us here ever get a day off? This is cruel' _Serenity complained to her bit beast in her mind. Serenity heard Luna laugh a little before moving to the back of her mind, Serenity sat on her bed to wait for Tala, she got bored after a while and launched her blade in the centre of the room and just watched it spin aimlessly. When the bathroom door opened she called her blade back to her and stood up again and a couple minutes later they left the room and moved back to the training room.

Tala looked at the wall that Serenity and Luna had attacked the night before, "What happened here?" he asked muttering so only Serenity heard as he looked at the craters in the wall.

"I have no idea" Serenity muttered not wanting to answer how she did that to the thick stone wall.

Boris came in soon after, he already knew that it was Serenity's attacks that had created all the damage to the training room wall, so he tended to treat her with some form of respect since she held great power and was able to control it which made her very valuable to him. He told them that they were going to practice tag team matches and Boris thought that Serenity and Tala would be best together.

Tala and Serenity were the first ones to battle to battle and had to go up against the abbey bully; Jeremy and the other kid that Serenity had almost hit with the punching bag whose name had just been revealed to her as Justin, they all walked up to the dish and prepared to launch their blades, a guard started the countdown, and the four bladers launched and created a full out war on their opponents. Serenity was the first to attack and was going straight after Jeremy who looked far too confident for Serenity's liking; Luna rushed toward Jeremy's black blade and pushed him against the side of the dish, breaking one side of Jeremy's attack ring, Jeremy's blade disappeared from the dish, leaving Luna and Serenity to find him. _'Come out, come out wherever you are' _Serenity thought searching the dish thoroughly, then she spotted a glimpse of something and Jeremy noticed that she had figured out where he was and with the speed of lightning his blade became visible and flew right in between Serenity and Tala, tearing a piece of Tala's jacket and scratching his shoulder. Serenity saw the cut and quickly got back to the match, having a slight score to settle with both Jeremy and Justin.

Serenity gave all her power to Luna and Luna absorbed it, "Crescent beam smash" Serenity ordered her bit-beast, Luna created a thick wind of fire that picked up both Jeremy and Justin's blades but something changed in the middle of her attack and Luna threw the blades back down into the dish. Serenity had no intentions of ending the match so soon so she gave them another chance to fight; Justin went up against Tala while Serenity tried her luck with Jeremy.

Tala attacked Justin but Justin deflected it easily, "Don't you ever give up?" Justin asked smirking.

"No, of coarse not" Tala replied before sending Wolborg after Justin's blade which had started circling the dish with intense speed.

Serenity was getting tired of messing around and decided to end the match quickly but Jeremy had just started chasing Luna and attacked her before she had time to fight back, Serenity was about to lose to him and quickly attacked when she saw an opening in his defense, she attacked and something went wrong and created a large explosion throwing Serenity and only Serenity into the wall behind her, when the smoke cleared Serenity had fallen off the wall and had landed on her stomach, still heavily breathing, Tala turned back from Serenity and to the dish to see Luna was still spinning, he turned back to see Serenity slowly pushing herself off the ground and stepping forward to move closer to her blade, she was energy-less but refused to throw the match, she rapidly hit Jeremy's blade over and over again until he the blade had flown past Jeremy and into the training room wall.

Tala pulled together enough energy for another attack and tried to knock Justin out in the same way Serenity had defeated Jeremy and after a couple more beatings he managed to knock Justin's blade out onto the stone floor. While Jeremy and Justin were picking up their blades and preparing themselves for extra training which was the punishment for the losers, Tala turned back to Serenity to see her slump against the wall, exhausted from lack of sleep and all the effort she put into her attacks, she scratched her back against the uneven walls when she slipped to the ground, being unable to stop herself she just sat against the wall with her head lowered and her crossed arms covering her face. Tala walked over to her quickly and pulled her forward and lifted her head; she was pale yet heat had started to rise and her cheeks became flushed.

Boris walked up behind Tala and told a guard to help Tala take Serenity back to her room, saying that she past her test and had done enough for the day, a guard took Serenity out of Tala's arms who followed the guard back up to the room where the guard laid Serenity on her bed and left with out a word. Tala went to the bathroom and pulled out a piece of cloth and wet it with cold water and went back to Serenity and placed it on her burning forehead, he watched her flinch slightly when the cold water touched her but she didn't stir. He sat there for over two hours, still with his bleeding shoulder, not bothering to tend to it even though it hurt him, he just didn't feel like moving, there was something about the battle that he couldn't quite figure out, like why Serenity's attack hadn't worked. Tala felt a gripping pain in his shoulder, it pained him a lot and he placed his hand over the deep wound on his shoulder. He turned back to Serenity who just seemed to be resting and her breathing was back to normal. He felt another sharp pain and the hand that covered the wound was already smeared with blood. He picked up a piece of gauze from the dressing table and cut a small piece and placed it over his shoulder. He leaned against the door frame and just watches Serenity longer from there.

**A/N: **So how was it? Did you like it? I don't think it was very good but I am going to leave you to decide, it is more a matter of opinion and I tend to judge myself harshly. So please tell me what you thought about the battles, my weakest points are probably the battles, it took me like an hour just to write one paragraph of the battles. Please Review, my exams are over in two days and so I might update faster, especially if I get reviews wink Please Review, I am begging you. Bye!


	3. Pain

**A/N: **Hey everyone, I am so sorry for updating so late but I have a couple of good excuses…well I think they're good; during my exams school finishes extremely early so I sometimes go to Mc Donalds which is across the street from school since nobody will be at home so I can't go to my house or to my grandmother's house, after 3 days of eating there and the day my exams finished I started throwing up and I got really sick. I couldn't write much for the simple reason of me not being able to get out of bed so my second option was writing it out on paper but my fear of feeling sick on the long chapter told me to do otherwise. And then Saturday my friend was bored and because of my weak stomach I couldn't leave the house and so she came over and then I finally started to write. It has been hard to get to a computer and stay long enough to write a chapter in my condition so I really hope you all understand. Sorry if this chapter isn't up to your expectations and please forgive me if it is very short compared to my other chapters.

I got another question from Ray-Tiger-Cat, here it is.

**Review: **It was a good chapter! Keep writing! And I'm glad that you think that I ask good questions, I thought maybe I ask too many. I'm sorry for not reviewing sooner, but I've been typing up chap 2 for my fic (which I've posted today). Who knew being an author was so much work? (It's worth it though, I love getting good reviews!) Know what I've never asked you? Why you have 1978 in your pen name?

**Q: **Why do I have 1978 in my pen-name?

**A:** I didn't think anyone would ever ask so I don't have a good answer to it. 1978 is just an important year to me, I know I wasn't even born at the time but it still is important to me, it has something to do with the astrological charts but I can't really explain what it means for the simple reason that I don't even know the exact meaning to it, all I know is that it is related to the astrological charts, demons fear it, good magic respects it. That's all I can say. Hope that helped a little.

**P.S **Ray-Tiger-Cat, feel free to ask as many questions as you like, you can never ask too many, I truly enjoy answering questions so anyone can ask as many as they like and I will answer them all as best I can and I never get bored with them so ask as many as you like. Let's move onto the chapter, can someone do a disclaimer.

**Serenity:** Phoenix from the flames 1978 does not own beyblade or anything from it, she just owns me and this plot.

**Chapter 3**

Tala gazed at Serenity as she slept peacefully but got distracted when he felt another flash of pain rush through him. He gripped his shoulder tighter, hoping to ease the pain as he sat on his bed with his back against the wall. He closed his eyes to rest but in the short amount of time of resting he drifted off to sleep.

The room fell silent and all that could be heard was the cold wind outside crashing against the abbey walls. Both bladers had been sleeping for over an hour and after a while Serenity slowly started to stir and her deep blue eyes fluttered open; her vision was blurred at first but after blinking a couple of times her vision seemed to clear up though she still felt dizzy. She felt the damp piece of material still on her forehead and moved her hand out from under the warm covers and reached to remove the cloth and place it on the dressing table which she just managed to reach in her weak condition. She moved her warm hand back to her forehead to replace the damp feeling and thought about what had happened and remembered about her attack not working. _'Luna what happened to our attack?' _Serenity questioned her bit beast weakly.

'_I don't know what happened, please forgive me Mistress' _Luna replied in Serenity's mind with deep sorrow and fear in her gentle voice.

'_It's ok Luna, everyone makes mistakes, for all we know it could be my fault' _Serenity replied to the worry.

'_I assure you Mistress that it wasn't your fault' _Luna said.

'_Whatever you say Luna' _Serenity said finally giving in since she knew that they could argue about whose fault it was all day. She realized she hadn't heard Tala in the room and wasn't sure if he was still downstairs and felt too weak to move her head to look around the room. _'Where is Tala?' _she asked worriedly.

'_He is here, he has been with you for a long time now but…I think he is hurt' _Luna replied.

'_What?' _Serenity asked in alarm, she sat up quickly despite the dizziness and turned to look at Tala who still sat against the wall. She weakly pushed herself out of bed and unsteadily walked over to Tala. She sat next to him and lifted his head up slightly.

'_It appears he didn't tend to the wound on his shoulder' _Luna informed.

'_How could he be so careless, he should have looked after himself instead of helping me' _Serenity replied, angry at what Tala had done to himself.

'_You should try to help him' _Luna suggested.

'_After all he has done for me you actually think that I wouldn't help him?' _Serenity replied almost bitterly. She pushed Tala down into bed, but Tala's grip on his arm hadn't loosened in the slightest. Serenity moved his hand off his shoulder, she walked over to the dressing table and took the role of bandages and walked back to Tala and tied a wet piece of cloth around his shoulder, making Tala wince more at the pain. Serenity stood up and sat on the floor by her bed, she reached under her bed for something and pulled put a small trunk, she opened it and took out a dark blue blanket and went back to Tala and placed it over him, after making sure he was warm enough she checked the time and realized that they had to be downstairs soon.

Serenity turned back to Tala again and then went to the bathroom to get changed. She stepped into the bathroom and after she removed her clothes she stepped into the small shower, she opened the water and let the cold water run down her back as she let her hair get wet, not caring whether or not she caught a cold later. She switched off the water and got out of the shower as she dried herself off with a towel and changed into her pale night gown. She left her clothes on a counter ready for the next day and went back to the bedroom; she sat on her bed for a while and watched Tala from a distance when the door opened. She turned her head sharply toward the door to see who it was; the same guard that had carried Serenity upstairs earlier stood in the doorway looking at Serenity confusedly, thinking about how it was Serenity that had been hurt and not Tala but just shook it off and informed her that dinner would be earlier than usual and that they should be down stairs soon.

Serenity nodded and the guard left, she sighed and moved over to Tala to make sure he was going to be ok before she left. She couldn't wake him up, he seemed in too much pain to get up and go downstairs, so she thought he would have been better off in bed resting. She hadn't been able to check the wound properly since she thought that she had better check it when he was awake, she dipped a piece of cloth into a shallow bowl of water and wiped the drying crimson blood on Tala's hand. She tied another piece of dry cloth around his shoulder over the wet one that seemed to have absorbed most of the blood. She got off the bed and started her journey to the dining room.

She walked slowly down the cold halls and heard something hit the stone floors around the corner from where she had stood, it sounded like a person fell or something but she couldn't quite tell who it was. Her curiosity got the best of her and she turned around the corner to see what was going on; a boy had just kicked a little kid to the ground, the kid trying hard to push himself off the ground but felt very weak. Serenity gasped when the older kid kicked the boy again, she moved out of the shadows, "What do you think you're doing?" she questioned crossing her arms.

The two boys looked up at her but didn't reply, Serenity just moved forward and knelt down in front of the fallen boy, she placed a hand out to help him up, he stared at it for a second but then took it and pushed himself off the ground. He stood up and placed a hand against the wall for some support after he let go of Serenity's helpful hand. "Mind I ever catch you hurting someone again" She yelled at the older boys, placing her hands on her hips.

"Or what?" One of the boys asked, stepping forward with nothing more than an icy tone and a sharp death glare.

"Or your fate will be the same" Serenity said simply before turning round and walking away and back to the hall way that lead the way to the dining room, with the boy she had helped out following far behind her since he had been on his way to the dining room too before he was stopped by the other two kids. Serenity walked into the dining room and sat down in her usual place, she had started eating a couple of minutes later and tried to get rid of the strong guilt that she felt in her heart but it just clung to her even tighter. She avoided everyone's eyes and thankfully that night, Boris hadn't come down stairs to speak to them before dinner which was definitely a good thing for Serenity because she hadn't wanted to explain where and what had happened to Tala. She stood up when she was done and walked back up to her room; she quietly walked into the bedroom and gently closed the door behind her. She walked over to Tala to see he had shifted position in his sleep and was now lying on his side but thankfully not the side of his wounded shoulder. She made sure he was ok and that he was warm enough and then moved back to her bed; just sitting there she watched him not feeling tired at all but instead feeling very much awake.

'_I know you know what's wrong, it's much more than just a shoulder wound so what the hell is wrong Luna?' _Serenity told her bit-beast, knowing that Luna knew what was wrong and that a cut on his shoulder was not what was making him this bad.

'_The wound was exposed for far too long that after a while it seemed to have gotten infected' _Luna replied hesitantly, not wanting to worry her Mistress.

Serenity's eyes widened and then she sighed, _'This is my entire fault, I swore to myself that something like this wouldn't happen. And I failed' _she said, her mind's voice filled with self-loath.

'_Don't blame yourself for this, he chose this, he would have much rather have helped you and he did, he knew the consequences' _Luna said, trying to explain to her that there was nothing she could have done.

'_Will he be ok?' _Serenity asked gripping her arms tighter around herself for some extra comfort.

'_You could remove the infection when he wakes up, he should be fine after that' _Luna suggested.

'_Do you know how painful that is? I don't want to hurt him Luna' _Serenity said with her thoughts filled with fear as a tear slipped down her face.

'_He will be in far more pain if you don't do it' _Luna fought back.

'_I understand' _Serenity said, mentally nodding and wiping away the wetness from her cheeks.

'_Good, he will be fine Mistress' _Luna reassured again, _'you tell everyone to have hope but when it comes to something like this you don't have any, why?' _Luna asked.

'_I don't know, I'm just scared of doing something wrong and hurting someone' _Serenity replied.

'_You yourself told me that we all make mistakes and I know you by now, you would never intentionally hurt someone unless it were for the greater good' _Luna said reasonably, she sensed that Serenity wanted to be alone for a while so she moved back to her place in Serenity's mind giving her space.

Serenity lay down in bed on her side and just watched Tala for a while before closing her eyes. She lay there for a couple of minutes before hearing a whispered groan coming from the other side of the room. She quickly opened her eyes and sat up in her bed, she hurriedly walked over to Tala when she saw him trying to sit up, she pushed him back down, "How are you feeling?" she asked quietly.

Tala closed his eyes again since his blurred vision only gave him a headache, "Been better" he said in a raspy voice as he tried to move his hand up to rub his temples but the pain in his injured shoulder disallowed him to move his right hand at all.

'_I bet you have'_ Serenity thought, "Why did you choose to help me over yourself?" She asked.

"I guess…I just got worried and forgot about myself" Tala replied quietly as he turned his head; even though his eyes were closed, he could feel Serenity still looking at him.

"Well…don't do that again, don't choose me over yourself, I'm not worth it" Serenity said almost yelling in anger but kept her tone down to a whisper because she didn't know what kind of pain he could be going through already and not wanting to hurt him anymore then he already was. Tala didn't reply but just lay in his bed trying not to show anymore of the pain he was feeling, he moved his left hand under the covers and tried to move it to get a grip on his shoulder but Serenity noticed the movement and pulled his hand away from his shoulder, "It won't make things any better" she said, gently placing Tala's hand by his side. "I can try to help you but you have to be able to trust me in this." She whispered.

Tala nodded and sat up a little, Serenity moved to sit against the wall and slowly removed the two pieces of cloth that were tied around Tala's wounded shoulder, she held them in her hand as she inspected the wound. Her face paled more than usual and she had a look that said 'wow, that must be painful' on her face but then looked up at Tala who was staring back at her. "I guess I should work on a better face, huh?" she asked referring to her scared look. "I'm not going to lie to you, this will hurt a little" she said with an apologetic look etched on her features.

"It might not have too be so painful" Luna's gentle voice said as she appeared in her human-like goddess form sitting on the spare bed in the room with her hands behind her back for some support.

Tala's eyes widened at the bit-beast in front of him and was about to speak but Serenity interrupted instead of him with a questioning look to Luna's last statement, "What do you mean?" she asked her bit-beast with more questioning in her voice then ever before.

"You did bring a couple of extra vials with you didn't you?" Luna asked.

Serenity's eyes widened and she smiled, "Yeah, you think it will be good enough?" she asked still smiling and mentally kicking herself for forgetting.

"It should be and will help quite a lot" Luna replied gently getting off the bed and standing up with her hands on her hips.

"Thanks Luna" Serenity replied smiling wider.

"Not a problem, anything for a friend" Luna replied, looking down at Tala and smiling. She stepped forward and disappeared in a gust of wind that spun around her and she returned to her icy blade.

"Why do you always leave me stuck in the middle?" Tala asked turning on his back to look up at Serenity properly.

"Sorry about that, she just likes to appear every now and then" Serenity said laughing a little.

"What was she talking about? A vial?" Tala asked returning to the original subject after he felt another slight flash of pain from his infected shoulder.

Serenity nodded and got off the bed, walking over to her back pack that was still on the floor at the foot of her bed. She pulled out a small vial of clear liquid and took out a long white candle and a box of matches, she clutched the vial tightly and walked back to Tala and sat next to him on the bed placing the candle and matches on her lap. She opened the small bottle and handed it to Tala who had been looking at her strangely for a while, she took his hand and placed it in his hand and curled his fingers around the glass. "Drink this, it will ease the pain" she whispered to him.

Tala gripped the vial tighter in his hand and then slowly brought it up to his lips and took a long sip and quickly moved it away when he felt like choking on the extremely strong and bitter taste. He concentrated on the taste left in his mouth and didn't feel any pain, screwing his ever-blue eyes shut; the strong drink blocking out anymore pain for the time being. **(A/N: Please do not and I repeat DO NOT do any of what is now happening cause I will personally come after you and kill you myself if this procedure doesn't kill you, do not do any of the following, if it is not done by a professional so don't do it)** He hadn't noticed Serenity strike a match and light the white candle; she placed it next to the deep wound and bring it closer to the torn skin as she let hot wax fall onto it. Unfortunately for Tala the antidote he drank hadn't lasted very long and so he felt every drop of hot wax drip onto the surface of the sensitive skin. Wincing when the fire moved closer, burning the surrounding edges of the cut. After all the cut was covered in a thin layer of wax, Serenity moved the shortened candle away and blew out the burning flame and tossing it and the matches across the small room and onto her bed.

Serenity studied Tala's face for any more signs of pain; when she saw him relax she proceeded in removing the already dried wax, she slowly peeled it off, and taking off with it the dried blood and the infection that had embedded itself in the surface of the wound. She removed all the wax and then slowly wiped the sensitive skin with a wet piece of cloth. She picked up the fallen particles of wax and got up to throw them away along with the other blooded bandages. She walked back to Tala and watched him tremble from time to time; she tightened another dry bandage around his arm to protect the sensitive skin and to keep any more infections from getting in and then slowly moving her hand to his face, stroking his cheek gently, making Tala open his eyes to look back at her. Serenity got off the bed, "I'll be right back" she said walking out the door.

Tala nodded rather confusedly but let her go anyway; he lay down properly on his side and tried to get comfortable but still trying to keep the little pain he was feeling to himself. He felt weak but wasn't very sure why, he looked up at the opposite wall to check the time and noticed that dinner would have just finished though wondered why Serenity hadn't been down stairs for it. He hadn't eaten anything since the night before since they never had breakfast or lunch and had to wait till the next evening for their meal but now he missed it and had to wait longer to eat something which would be a problem since lack of food means lack of sleep and lack of sleep means lack of energy and lack of energy means a beating from Boris along with extra training. He sighed and screwed his eyes shut again, trying to block out the emptiness he was feeling, he couldn't feel any part of himself anymore; he just felt exhausted.

Serenity opened the door and came in with a plate that had two pieces of bread with some butter and held a glass of water in her other hand, she walked over to Tala who looked up at her as she handed him the plate of food and placed the glass of water near him on the table. She smiled a little and sat on her bed as she watched him eat, "I couldn't let you starve" she said still smiling as she sat with her back against the stone walls, shuddering when her bare skin touched the cold surface.

Tala quickly finished the little food and then placed the plate on the table near him, and lay on his back, "Thanks" he whispered to her weakly, closing his eyes to rest.

"No problem, I owed you" Serenity said.

"Is that why you did it, because you owed me?" Tala asked in a disappointed tone, still not moving from his position.

"No" Serenity said simply and carelessly.

"Then why?" Tala asked still in a disappointed and almost hurt tone.

"Because you're my friend and I care about you with all my heart" Serenity said.

Tala opened his eyes when he heard the response and saw Serenity sitting near him, she smiled at him and leaned in and kissed him lightly on the cheek. She blushed a little and quickly got back to her bed, she lay down, "Good night" she whispered, closing her eyes with the deep blush ceasing to leave her face.

Tala had an equally red blush creep to his pale face and he thought about what she had said about them being friends, friends were forbidden but by now what rules hadn't he not broken? He turned back on his side, feeling it was the most comfortable position to be in on the uncomfortable bed, he saw Serenity who seemed to be already sleeping or else in deep thought. He silently wished her a good night and let himself drift off to sleep which didn't take very long in his weak state.

'_Please tell me I really didn't just kiss him' _Serenity told her bit beast nervously.

'_Ok then, you didn't kiss him' _Luna replied normally.

'_But did I?'_ Serenity asked getting more nervous by the question.

'_Yes you did' _Luna said laughing but trying to pull it back a little before it got too far.

'_Oh no, he probably thinks I'm an idiot or something' _Serenity said burying her head in her pillow as if she were ashamed of herself over a little peck on the cheek.

'_Or something' _Luna said still smiling, quite frankly enjoying her Mistress' little act of shame.

'_Thanks for being so supportive' _Serenity said sarcastically.

'_I'm sorry Mistress; don't get yourself worked up over a little kiss' _Luna said still with a smile on her young face.

'_Go away, cant you see someone is trying to sleep here' _Serenity said sleepily waving her hand as though she were shooing away an actual person from the room, though she still kept her head under the pillow trying to block out the voice of her laughing bit beast.

'_Fine' _Luna said before disappearing to the back of Serenity's mind.

Serenity lay in bed and fell asleep after what felt like forever, she hadn't really been tired, she just told Luna that so she could just go away but now she had nothing to do but stare at the moon outside. She slept but woke up from time to time in the middle of the night to make sure Tala was ok with a feeling that something was wrong but every time she checked up on him, he was fine. "What is wrong with me?" she muttered, getting back into bed and pulling the thin white sheets over herself. She slept again but didn't wake up till early next morning. She read the time on the clock, "4 o'clock might as well get up" she said throwing the covers off herself, letting a cold wind touch her long legs.

_I woke up in a dream today  
To the cold of the static / and put my cold feet on the floor  
Forgot all about yesterday  
Remembering I'm pretending to be where I'm not anymore  
A little taste of hypocrisy  
And I'm left in the wake of the mistake / slow to react _

She placed her feet on the cold stone floor and shuddered; she walked to the bathroom and slowly undressed, taking her time for every action since it was still very early. Her mind was clear of all that had happened and she just felt calm and relaxed, nothing in particular was on her mind. She stepped into the shower and let warm water run down her spine and then turned it to cold. She just rested there for a second before switching off the water and stepping out of the shower; she dried herself off with her towel and changed into her jeans and top. She walked out of the bathroom after sorting out her things and picking up her blade and pocketing it for practice later. She sat back down on her bed waiting for time to speed up and rush past her but every second felt like an hour to her, she had nothing to do at the time and wasn't in the mood for practice, knowing that she would get enough of it later.

Serenity sighed and placed her hands behind her head while she lay on her already done bed. She sat up again and went over to her bag and pulled out a small deck of cards, she sat on the floor in the centre of the room and shuffled the cards and laid them in piles face down in front of her, she then turned over a card from the top of each pile and just created what seemed like a puzzle out of them. 'Puzzle' being the key word since if you were sitting near her while she was fidgeting with the cards you would be puzzled beyond belief. She raised an eye brow and continued trying to figure something out to sort out the cards properly; she smiled when she completed them and then packed the cards back together before shuffling them. She put them in her bag and checked the time again, "4:50" she whispered, she looked at Tala who was still sleeping peacefully and thought about waking him but couldn't bring herself to.

Finally when the clock hit 5 she walked over to him and tried to wake him up obviously not shaking him by the shoulders cause his right shoulder was the wounded one and his left one was the one he was currently sleeping on so shaking him by the shoulders was definitely out of the question. She smiled a little at the peaceful look on Tala's young childish face. She placed a hand on his side and tried to shake him awake slightly from there but Tala just waved a hand at her as if telling her to go away but as much Serenity wanted to leave him to rest, she had to wake him up and get him through training without attracting Boris' attention. She shook him gently but a little faster while yelling at him to wake up until he finally did, much to his best efforts to ignore Serenity. He sat up weakly but couldn't push himself up with his right hand but managed to sit up to look at the time and then go to the bathroom to get changed.

Serenity waited for him patiently and when he came out they went down stairs for training. They were made to practice their launches that day, other kids and guards left the training room but Tala and Serenity were made to stay practicing their launches longer and when the last guard left Serenity pulled Tala aside to speak to him about something she noticed earlier. "Hey, are you ok?" she asked gesturing to his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" Tala asked.

"Your launches have been really off lately and I thought maybe it was because of it" Serenity said.

"It's nothing, I'm working on the launches so its fine" Tala explained, pushing past her and was preparing to launch his blade again.

"Give me your hand" Serenity said holding her hand out.

"What?" Tala asked turning to look at her almost in fear with a hint of anger.

"You heard me, give me your hand" Serenity repeated.

Tala slowly moved his right hand and placed it into Serenity's open hand and he watched as her fingers curled around his whole hand and squeezed it tightly, he cringed at the pain that went from his hand up the nerve to his shoulder making him loose his grip on his launcher, letting it fall from his left hand. Serenity let go of his hand and letting him take a grip onto his right shoulder. Serenity moved closer to him and removed his hand off his shoulder before he actually hurt himself by pressing against it, "If you keep doing that your just going to hurt yourself more than you already are, so stop it" Serenity ordered angrily.

"You two" A deep voice yelled. Tala and Serenity turned to look at the guard that had just walked in, "Boris wants his top soldiers in their rooms early today and that obviously includes you two" he told them in a monotonous tone and looking at them with disgust.

"Yes sir" Both Tala and Serenity said in dull unison.

The guard left and Serenity and Tala walked up to their room, not saying a word to each other, they kept their thoughts to themselves and both were thinking about why Boris wanted them in their rooms so early. Boris had said earlier that all his top 'soldiers' had been training a lot and that some of them seemed to slowing down, he also said that there will be days when they will have earlier curfews so maybe this was one of those days.

**A/N: **How was it? Please Review this chapter. I want to know what you liked about it and why and if there was some kind of conversation you might have liked and tell me why so maybe this way I know more about what you like and can use it in later chapters. Please Review, the more reviews I get the faster I will update. Bye!


	4. Lots of Love and Three Years Later

**A/N: **Hey every, thanks for your reviews and thanks to all the get wells I got from you all I am much better and you can tell I am feeling better cause I am eating chocolate; you'd think I'd be more careful but no way I felt like something to snack on. I seemed to get a lot of questions on the same topic; the wound and the candle wax so here are my answers.

**Q: **How did I learn how to treat an infected wound with a candle and wax and how did I come up with the idea?

**A: **Ok, everyone _should _know that you should treat a wound with heat to burn infections. Years ago when a person got shot or seriously wounded they used to heat metal and place it against their wound to burn any air born infections or anything that came in contact with the wound. It also keeps a wound closed because you are melding the skin into a position, keeping it from opening and bleeding again but at the same time you are making the skin very fragile and you can easily hurt someone even just by brushing past them since a cold wind against skin can sting the surface slightly.

I once treated a wound on my shoulder but I had just covered the surface in wax to keep anything from getting in and to keep the skin from stinging as much with the cold air outside. I had just come across the idea of the infected shoulder in the story when I remembered what happened to me so I thought I should include my method of tending to a wound. I learnt about it in my history lesson and you can find out about it on the internet, it was always used back in medieval times both as a torture method and as a disinfectant for wounds so that is where the main idea for it came from.

So you asked me all these questions on the same subject now I need you to answer a question; was using this idea in the fic a good one or a stupid one? I wasn't sure whether you would think I used my head or thought I was insane so I want to know.

On with the chapter, I can't assure you that chapters will always be as long as the first few but I will update more often hopefully so the update will make up for the length. So could Serenity be so kind as to do a disclaimer before I start up some random conversation.

**Serenity: **Let's put this loud and clear Phoenix from the flames 1978 does not own beyblade but she does own me and this plot.

**Chapter 4**

Serenity and Tala silently stepped into their cold room, both thinking about how they felt something was wrong. Now they had nothing in particular on their minds but just wondering why Boris wanted them in their rooms so early but didn't bother giving it too much thought. They both sat on their beds with their backs against the cold stone walls. Serenity lifted her head when she heard Tala sigh though it was very low and could be heard just above a whisper.

Tala sighed again and ignored Serenity's earlier warning and moved his hand up to grip his shoulder and squeezed it tightly hoping to ease the pain. He sat back and closed his eyes trying to ignore the pain though it seemed useless, he didn't wince as he tried hard not to but occasionally bit his lip.

Meanwhile Serenity got off her bed, stood up and sat near him and gently stroked higher up his wounded shoulder till he turned his head to look at her. Her eyes as usual held worry and concern but he also saw some disappointment in them. "Why are you so afraid to ask for help?" she asked softly.

When Tala didn't reply she got off the bed and took out a vial like the one from the night before. She handed it to him and sat down near him as before. Tala was having second thoughts about drinking the antidote Serenity gave him but got himself to drink it when his wounded shoulder let out a shocking pain through him.

He started to drink it slowly but the strong taste started to make him feel sick and he felt like choking on the strong taste that was left in his mouth. Serenity took back the vial that was still half full and started to gently rub Tala's back when he broke out into a coughing fit. Serenity placed the vial near Tala on the dressing table and just sat near him with her hand still on his back when he calmed down.

Serenity was still very worried and it was clearly shown on her features. She had a look that wasn't common at all in the abbey. She pulled the dark blue blanket over his shoulders being careful not to brush against his wounded shoulder. Serenity embraced Tala in a tight hug as a tear slipped from her eye and rolled down her cheek, "I'm sorry" she whispered; till now she still blamed herself for the state he was in and refused to believe otherwise.

She slowly pulled away from him and wiped away the slight wetness on her cheek, trying to avoid his eyes so he couldn't see the tear. She then looked up to see Tala smile a little, he leaned closer to her and kissed her softly on the lips but pulled away quickly and blushed probably as much as Serenity had the day before. Serenity brought her hand up to one of her cheeks when she felt an intense heat rising in them and this time she was sure that she was at least five different shades of red. She smiled at Tala and then got off the bed to let him get some rest.

Serenity quietly walked into the bathroom and quickly closed the door behind her, not being able to help the smile that still tugged at her lips. She thought that maybe being at the abbey wasn't going to be so bad but that didn't mean that she had changed her mind about escaping from the abbey, it just gave her all the more reason to leave.

**---Three Years Later---**

"We're going to be late" Tala announced impatiently, knocking on the bathroom door.

Life in the abbey wasn't too bad. Things had gone fine for the past three years since Tala and Serenity had agreed to go through everything together as friends. Unfortunately, there were many times when they had to go through life on their own. There was a time, about a year before, when Serenity was taken to a deserted part of the abbey for private training with a guard and was on her own for about two weeks. During training Serenity fell over in exhaustion and as punishment, the guard that was with her was about to rape her but she managed to fight him off for a while. Luckily for her, Boris came in a few minutes later and since Serenity was one of his top soldiers he defended her and was the first to 'comfort' her though she knew he was only doing it so she would fight by his side but she would never give him the pleasure of fighting for him. She stood strong in front of him but when she got back to Tala she broke down into tears and wouldn't stop for the whole night only to find Tala had gone through some problems himself.

Guards were always watching him during training so any mistake he made was always seen, without Serenity to open up to and to support and encourage him he was defenseless and had to find comfort some other way. Unfortunately, that way was cutting and it got really bad since Serenity was never there to help him and to stop him from doing it. When Serenity got back she couldn't believe what had happened and what he had done but she didn't yell like she usually would but instead handled the situation with care and comforted him as he comforted her through her struggles. The cuts created more problems for training since the blood loss made him weaker though he didn't let something like that interfere with training and having Serenity back only made him feel better and the cutting stopped soon after.

Serenity was brushing her hair and quickly put it up when she heard her complaining room mate outside. She opened the door and walked out, only to bump into Tala who was still leaning against the door. "I just needed to do my hair, there's no need to complain so much" she said as she walked to the door and opened it to go down stairs to training.

"Women" Tala muttered as he walked out into the hall.

Serenity closed the door behind her and rolled her eyes when she heard his whispered remark, "Men" she whispered back, making it quiet but saying it loud enough for him to hear her. They walked down stairs to the training room and had to practice tag team battles.

When the time came for Serenity and Tala to battle, Jeremy and Justin stepped up to the dish. Jeremy and Justin had been Tala and Serenity's opponents for the past three years since they still held a grudge against Serenity most of all.

All four bladders launched their blades and Jeremy quickly went on the attack and went straight after Serenity and Luna. He chased after her but she was too fast for him to catch up to her. After a while Luna started to slow down and made it almost easier for Jeremy to attack.

Jeremy turned to Justin and grinned as if it were a signal, Justin nodded; he had understood. He mentally commanded his blade and it swiftly jumped out of the dish and literally went after Tala and not Wolborg. Justin's black blade was just about to hit Tala in the chest and Tala wasn't able to move, but Serenity roughly pushed him out of the way in time but still kept her concentration on her battle with Jeremy.

It looked like Serenity was loosing badly and Boris just watched in anger as one of his top soldiers became his weakest link. Jeremy was still attacking and was getting tired of it all but Serenity wouldn't give up. "Don't you ever give up?" Jeremy asked.

"No" Serenity said bluntly.

After more long minutes of attacking and taunting remarks, Serenity felt her anger beginning to grow and now Jeremy was walking on thin ice, "You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Jeremy asked again tauntingly.

"I never give up" Serenity spat back bitterly. "But at least I know when to look out for my team mate" she continued; referring to Justin who was losing badly to Tala.

Jeremy's eyes filled with anger and he started to furiously attack Luna but she quickly countered his last attack and knocked him out easily. Tala had easily knocked Justin's blade out of the dish, which left two blades left in the dish and both went back to their owners that pocketed the now warm metal. "I guess that's another win for us then" Tala announced to Justin and Jeremy.

"Too easy" Serenity said, shaking her head and placing her hands on her hips. Justin and Jeremy glared at their gloating before walking out of the training room, followed by two other guards.

"Nice battle" Tala whispered to Serenity when he got the slightest of a chance.

"You too" Serenity replied, whispering back. Training went on as usual and nothing really changed, the same boring stuff happened everyday for the past three years. Straight after training, everyone went to dinner instead of going to their rooms first and then going down stairs again.

After dinner they all went to their rooms, Tala had gone to change first that night and was now sitting on the window sill and just stared outside while Serenity went to the bathroom to change.

Serenity came out of the bathroom in her night gown, which now went just above her knees. She closed the bathroom door behind her but Tala didn't even flinch despite the noise the door made instead he just stayed staring outside the window. She picked up the big blue blanket from her bed and draped it over her shoulders and pulled it tighter around herself for some warmth in the cold room. She slowly walked over to Tala and climbed onto the window sill and sat next to him. She noted that he was wearing a white short sleeved top like every other night, "Are you cold?" she asked quietly.

Tala shook his head but it didn't work because his back touched the cold wall behind him and shuddered and with Serenity so close to him, she felt it. Serenity pulled one side of the blanket across his back so they could both share the warmth and use the blanket. She rested her head on his shoulder and held onto his arm tightly and after a while she spoke again in a hushed tone, "Why are you still afraid to tell me when something is bothering you?" she asked, lifting her head off his shoulder to look up at him.

Tala's ever-blue eyes were staring back at her with deep sorrow in them. He moved his hand from under the cover and slowly moved it up and stroked Serenity's cheek gently. Serenity closed her eyes when she felt the soft hand of her room mate on her skin. Tala's lips crashed down onto hers and she went along with it. She pushed herself closer to him and her hands found their way up his chest.

Tala deepened the kiss by pulling Serenity closer to him and made sure she didn't move back or else they would have both fallen on Tala's bed that was under the window. Serenity felt Tala's cold hands run down her back; his hands moved down and stopped for a while at her waist. Serenity moved her hands off his chest and placed her hands on his; stopping them from moving any lower. She slowly pulled out of the kiss, resisting the urge to continue on with the kiss and letting it go further but she finally pulled away but still kept her face close to his. "Not now" she whispered, moving his hands higher up her back.

Tala nodded and Serenity softly kissed him on the lips again but pulled away quickly. She placed the blue blanket on Tala, "Don't stay up too late" she told him before giving him another quick kiss and jumping off the window sill. Serenity lay in bed for a few minutes before falling asleep. Tala on the other hand, sat on the window sill for another three hours before going to bed.

**---Next Morning---**

"Wake up would you" Serenity said, trying to keep her frustration under control as she tried to shake Tala awake. Tala opened his eyes and groaned when he saw the time behind Serenity. "Someone was up late last night" Serenity stated after seeing the frustration and exhaustion in Tala's eyes. She stepped away from him and crossed her arms as she leaned against the dressing table.

Tala sat up and yawned, before pulling together some energy to get out of bed and go the bathroom to change, along with a freezing cold shower. Serenity waited for Tala and after twenty minutes he came out, looking much more awake than before, "I guess that cold shower did the trick" Serenity said smiling as she pushed herself away from the dressing table.

Tala glared at her while he opened the door, he really wasn't in the mood to argue or flirt, so glaring was all he could do in his tired state. Serenity walked out of the room, when Tala walked out she took Tala's hand and laced their fingers together. Nobody was around, most probably already training so with the coast clear; she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She took his hand and they picked up the pace to go downstairs for their training.

Serenity and Tala had been practicing their blading when an argument between a guard and a kid caught their attention. Serenity watched as a guard kicked a kid who had tripped during his training, he kicked him again and Serenity's heart jumped and a strike of fear hit her. "Leave him alone" Serenity blurted.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Serenity; she slowly walked over the fallen kid who was about six years old, she knelt down and pulled him close to her and noticed his arm was red with little gashes of blood from being kicked so many times. She looked at his arm and then looked back up at the guard, her eyes filled with anger and hatred, "How dare you? He's just a little kid" she yelled.

The guard roughly picked Serenity up by her left wrist, "I think you're letting emotions get in the way, making you weak" he spat, roughly tightening his grip on her left wrist.

In the blink of an eye, Serenity pulled out a pen-knife from her back pocket and placed the open blade against the guards throat, the guard gulped and had a slight look of fear if you looked deep enough into his eyes, "I'm not letting anything get in my way, I'm just getting rid of the one thing that is in my way and has been a pain in my side since day one" she said angrily, her eyes holding hatred in them. Yep, you're probably thinking right, yes this was the same guard that had dragged Serenity into Boris' office three years ago. The guard that was in the training room when she broke the wall and the same guard that almost raped her the year before. The guard didn't dare to move, not being sure about how serious Serenity was being on the subject. "It's amazing about how you and Boris are teaching us not to show fear yet when you have a knife put to your throat you all cower in fear." Serenity continued, she saw that he had enough and quite frankly had enough of threatening people, "Just remember I can kill you in half the time it takes you to even think about it" she whispered so none of the other kids heard her though Tala knew his room mate by now and knew just what she was saying, that and he could read lips especially the lips of the person he loved. Serenity pulled the knife away from the guard and placed it in her back pocket and stared at the guard.

"Everyone be back in your rooms within half an hour" The guard said still staring at Serenity, before walking out of the training room, followed by the other two guards that were in the room.

All the other kids in the room left and Serenity signaled Tala to go up without her. After when Tala was the last one on the way up, Serenity turned back to the little boy who still sat on the ground. Serenity knelt down in front of the boy who looked up at her, terrified after watching the scene that had unfolded in front of him earlier. She picked him up and set him on her lap and inspected his arm, she looked up at the scared boy and smiled sweetly at him, she stood up and held onto the boy tightly in her arms. She walked out of the training room and upstairs to the main hall way that led to the bedrooms. "Which way is your room?" she asked.

The boy pointed down the hall with his good arm. Serenity looked at him worriedly, "What's your name kid?" she asked trying to make conversation.

"Mike" The boy said quietly.

Serenity smiled, "I had a good friend and his name was Mike too, he was a really nice person" she said and as she held Mike closer to her, "Do you have a room mate?" she asked, still walking down the long hall, Mike just nodded, "Who is your room mate?" she continued asking.

"Jeremy" Mike replied.

Serenity frowned a little, "He's not very nice is he?" she stated more than asked. **(A/N: Does that make any sense?)**

"Not really, he just ignores me a lot" Mike said.

"This your room?" Serenity asked pointing to a door, Mike nodded and Serenity opened the door and walked inside. She put Mike down onto his bed just when Jeremy walked out of the bathroom, drying his wet hair with a towel.

"What are you doing up here Serenity? Have you finally come to me?" Jeremy asked grinning, throwing the towel onto the bed.

Serenity rolled her eyes, "In your dreams Jeremy, I'm here to help Mike" she said, walking to the bathroom and taking out a small jar and some gauze.

"Do what you like" Jeremy said as he lazily lay on his bed with his hands behind his head.

"Don't worry I will" Serenity said, she sat down on the bed next to Mikes wounded arm and slowly rubbed some of the cold cream against the bruised skin, Mike winced and made a tight fist. Serenity moved her hand away from him, giving him a chance to calm down. After seeing him relax, she proceeded in wrapping his arm in the soft fluffy material.

After bandaging his arm, she pulled Mike into a tight hug and kissed him softly on the head. She pulled away from him and turned to see Jeremy staring at her. Jeremy snapped himself out of his daze, "Sorry, not something you see everyday" he said turning his head a way from her.

Serenity smiled, "Good night you two" she said, walking out of the room and down the hall. She walked down the hall and walked into her room, where Tala was waiting, already changed. She walked into the bathroom to get changed for dinner and came back out a few minutes later to see Tala sitting on his bed and just staring at the ground. _'What's wrong with him? He's been acting really strangely lately'_ she thought worriedly. She walked over to him and lifted his head up so that they stared into each others eyes; she kissed him softly and passionately on the lips before pulling away, "What's wrong?" she asked softly, hoping that he would tell her the honest truth and not just brush her off.

Tala smiled a little and continued staring at the ground though Serenity was in his way, so he just lowered his head, "Nothing…I was just thinking"

Serenity stared at him, worry still evident in her blue eyes, "You would tell me if some thing was wrong, wouldn't you?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, of coarse I would" Tala replied, placing his hands on her waist, with a worried look on his face since he wasn't sure why Serenity was questioning them together now.

"Good" Serenity said.

"Why?" Tala asked simply, wanting to know if he had done something wrong.

"Because I don't want anything like this to happen again" Serenity replied, tracing her fingers along the pale scars that ran their way down Tala's arm.

"It won't happen again, I promise" Tala reassured her, kissing her softly on the lips again.

"I hope it won't" Serenity said, before moving down closer to him and starting off a kiss that lasted quite a while.

They pulled away soon after and Serenity sat near him and rested her head on his shoulder. They sat there quietly and waited a while to go down for dinner. Serenity lifted her head off Tala's shoulder when it was eight o'clock, Tala got up and placed his hand out and Serenity took it and pushed herself off the bed. They kissed each other quickly since obviously no one knew about them together so kissing in the dining room or during training was certainly out of the question. They walked down to the dining room and instantly let go of each other's hand when they got to the dining room door.

They went in and sat in their usual places, they ate not too long later. They all finished dinner and Serenity walked up to Mike who was just leaving the dining room to go back to his room, "Hey, how are you?" she asked him.

"I'm fine" Mike said smiling a little but making sure that none of the guards saw it the smile on his young face.

"Ok, good night then" Serenity said smiling back.

"Good night" Mike said and running out of the dining room and up to his room.

Tala walked up behind Serenity wrapped his arm around her waist, "You made friends with him?" he asked.

"You're jealous" Serenity said, moving his hands from on her waist.

"Maybe" Tala said, flirting back.

"They're all like kids, and they're very cute." Serenity replied.

They were about to walk out of the dining room but a guard stepped in front of them, "Boris would like to see you in his office Serenity" the guard informed Serenity.

"You just can't stay out of trouble can you?" Tala whispered to Serenity.

"I'll be back soon" Serenity replied before walking off to Boris' office.

Serenity glared at the guard who was about to push her into Boris' office, the guard backed off and Serenity walked into the office. Serenity stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed. "I heard you threatened a guard today" Boris said, sitting behind his desk, like every other day.

"Yes I did" Serenity confirmed.

"Do you know I actually scared one of my best guards?" Boris asked calmly.

"Really? Well then, I think you should train your guards more than you train us" Serenity said in a calm tone though still with some ice in her voice.

"Maybe your right, I always knew that you had great potential to be here, from the first day I saw your cold exterior, I knew you were going to be a great addition to the abbey" Boris said sitting up straight in his chair and smirking.

"I may be here but it doesn't mean you have me, I will never serve you so whatever it is you are planning you can keep me out of it because there is no chance in hell that I will follow through with it" Serenity said, unfolding her arms and slamming her hands onto the desk. "I was just protecting myself today and that was it, I protected myself and I protected a little kid who shouldn't suffer the way I have suffered for the past three years, he shouldn't be made to go through the pain others before him went through" she continued angrily.

"As well you should have protected yourself, like every other girl your age should" Boris said, as if planned a guard stepped out of the shadows and grabbed serenity tightly by the arms and lifting her slightly off the ground.

"Let go of me" Serenity said, keeping the pain from emitting through her voice as she squirmed around in the guards tight grip. **(A/N: It is not the same guard that has been with Serenity all the time)**

"Watch yourself Serenity, be careful or you just might end up in a whole lot of trouble, trouble that you wont be able to fight your way out of" Boris said, placing his hand on her stomach. Serenity's eyes widened, did she hear right, she really hoped that she had misunderstood him, "Take her back to her room" Boris ordered the guard. **(A/N: Did anyone guess what he would do to her? Let me know) **

The guard nodded and pulled Serenity through the halls, Serenity got fed up of the grip on her wrist and quickly pulled out of it but the guard just tightened his grip on her left wrist. She turned back to look at him, the guard's eyes widened; he saw something in her eyes, he couldn't tell what it was that he saw but it just made him stare at her in aw. He loosened his grip on her and after feeling the grip loosen Serenity pulled away and ran down the hall to her room.

Serenity ran into her bedroom and closed the door behind her, "What happened?" Tala asked.

"It's nothing, I'll be fine" Serenity said leaning against the door as tears slowly streamed down her face.

"Serenity please tell me what happened." Tala demanded.

"It's nothing; Boris just threatened me again that's all. I'll be fine" Serenity said again.

Tala moved forward and wrapped his arm around her thin form and kissed the tears from her cheeks, she pushed away and kissed him softly and quickly on the lips, "Thanks for being here for me" she said quietly, she tightened her hold on him as if trying to hold onto life, she rested her head on his shoulder. She was going to be fine, not because Serenity said so but because she had someone that loved her for who she was and who cared about her and aslong as he was around she wasn't going to give up on life so easily.

**A/N: **Ok so that is the end of this chapter. I will try to update as soon as I can. Sorry for taking long to update but I've been under tons of stress. I know I'm not really good with romance so please forgive me for this very lovey-dovey chapter. Please tell me what you thought of it and give your honest opinions and if you think there is something I can improve then please tell me and I will work on it. The next chapter should be up in about three days, so see you soon.


	5. Secrets and Love

**A/N: **Hey everyone, how are you all? Ok most of you answered my questions of last chapter, I'm really happy that you liked the candle wax idea. The next question was what Boris would do to Serenity. SpiritualEnergy guessed correctly, or most of it at least. She said that he would probably rape her and she was right for the most part. Yes, he would rape her but there is actually a test to find out when a girl could get pregnant so he would get her pregnant.

Remember he said, "Watch yourself Serenity, be careful or you just might end up in a whole lot of trouble, trouble that you wont be able to fight your way out of", also remember she managed to fight her way out of getting raped the first time, but the trouble she cant fight her way out of is getting pregnant. She can fight him off but if he gets her pregnant then she can't fight that. Does that make sense?

On with the chapter, someone, disclaimer please.

**Serenity: **Phoenix from the flames 1978 does not own beyblade but she does own me and this plot.

**Chapter 5**

**---Three Years Later---**

"Hurry up Serenity" Tala yelled from outside the bathroom.

Serenity walked out of the bathroom, she had changed a lot over the long years; her hair pale purple hair grew longer and went all the way down her back and her whole attire had changed too. She now wore a black skirt that went just above her knees, a black top with thin straps and a dark blue jean jacket and wore her black boots that reached just below her knees, giving her a more kick ass look. She obviously grew much taller and pretty much her whole body changed. **(A/N: Please tell me I don't need to explain what else changed because that's just sick**)

Serenity wasn't the only person or thing that changed around the abbey; as Tala and Serenity's love grew, their whole room went through a drastic change. The dressing table was pushed to the side of the room by the bathroom door and Serenity's bed was pushed next to Tala's, making it look like a large double bed and the spare bed stayed in the same place by the door.

"Ok we can go now" Serenity said, quickly taking one last look in the mirror before turning to Tala who was looking at her strangely, "What?" she asked confusedly, as she smiled a little at the strange reaction.

Tala smirked, "Nothing, forget it" he said, he walked to the door and left the bedroom.

Serenity ran out the door, quickly closed the door and ran down the hall to catch up with Tala who was already turning round the corner at the end of the long hall way.

That day they had all gone outside in the snow for training but of course inside the abbey gates. Many of the younger kids felt very cold and at 4 o'clock, they all went inside to continue training there. All the guards left the training room since Boris had called them away for a meeting, leaving the older kids to watch over the younger ones as they trained. At 8 o'clock a guard came in and said that they all had to go their rooms and dinner will be taken to their rooms later that night. All the kids left the training room and went up to their bedrooms as ordered.

Serenity walked into her room and lay on her bed; she pulled her blade out of her pocket and stared at the phoenix on the bit chip and closed her eyes. _'Nice battles today Luna' _she told her bit-beast.

'_Thank you Mistress, you too, you did very well today' _Luna replied in her mind.

'_Thanks Luna, I just wish I could use all this power to get out of this hell hole' _Serenity said with frustration in her mind's voice.

'_They say you have to pay a price for your paradise. Don't you think you've gained something from all this pain?' _Luna asked, with wisdom.

'_Yeah, I found someone to love and someone who loves me back' _Serenity said.

'_So stop complaining' _Luna said.

'_What's the point of being in love if I'm stuck here? I mean it always has to be kept a secret and not to mention it's forbidden here' _Serenity said, still in a complaining tone.

'_Well, your plans of escaping are all most finished and they will most likely work' _Luna said.

'_I really hope they work cause I don't want to be stuck here any longer' _Serenity said.

'_I'm sure they will work, I've gone over them myself; your plans are flawless'_ Luna said reassuringly.

'_It's times like these I really hope you're right' _Serenity said, sighing in her mind.

'_It's times like these that I'm sure that I'm right' _Luna said in a teasing voice.

'_How right?' _Serenity asked.

'_As right as you'll ever be' _Luna said teasingly.

'_Mean' _Serenity said.

Luna laughed and went back to her place in Serenity's mind. Serenity opened her eyes and sat up in bed, she turned to her head to her right; she saw Tala sitting on the window sill, staring outside as usual. He always stayed there when ever he wanted to think, it's been like that for so long that it seemed normal, not that staring out a window was abnormal or anything but with the amount of time he spent there, it wasn't exactly normal to spend up to four hours staring out the window but Serenity got used to seeing him like that. "Why do you always stare out the window?" Serenity asked lying back down under the covers.

Tala turned to look at her and smirked a little, "What else do you want me to look at? You?" he asked.

Serenity smiled and laughed a little, "I might be a little more interesting" she said looking up at him.

"I don't think so" He replied jokingly.

"Is everyone mean around here" Serenity asked in a whining voice.

"Of course" Tala said turning back to the window, "It's the abbey, what do you expect?" he asked.

"Well I was hoping to get a little love from the man I love. Love won't kill any of us, it might kill Boris but not us" Serenity said smiling. They were interrupted by a hard knock at the door, Serenity sighed and went to the door and opened it a jar, a guard handed her two trays on top of each other and then he walked off. Serenity thought confusedly but then shook her head and walked back inside the room and closed the door behind her. She handed Tala the tray of food and sat on her bed and started to eat.

They both finished their food quickly and Serenity took Tala's tray and placed them both on the dressing table. She then went into the bathroom to get changed for bed while Tala continued staring out the window as the snow started to fall outside. Serenity came out in her dressing gown and she left her clothes in the bathroom for the next day, she went back to bed and waited for Tala to go to the bathroom but when she turned round and looked up, he was still sitting on the window sill. "Aren't you going to change?" Serenity asked lying on her back to look up at him with out arching her neck.

Tala snapped out of his daze and jumped off the window sill and over the bed, he walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Serenity sighed and pulled out her blade from under her pillow, _'Luna I'm getting really worried about him…I mean he's been acting really distant for a long time now' _she told her bit-beast worriedly.

There was a light pause and no word was said by her bit-beast, _'Oh, are you talking to me? I thought I was mean and that you wanted me to leave'_ Luna said after the long pause.

'_Luna'_ Serenity said in a warning tone.

'_I have noticed his distance too, what do you think is wrong?' _Luna asked with a slight trace of worry in her young voice.

'_I don't know but what scares me the most is that whatever the problem is, he doesn't feel he can tell' _Serenity said, she felt hurt by the fact that he hadn't told her. Along with hurt she was also frustrated by it.

'_Then maybe you should question him about it later' _Luna suggested.

'_You know what Luna? I just might' _Serenity said, after a few quiet moments Serenity sent Luna back to her place in her mind, keeping her thoughts to herself.

Tala came in a few minutes later and quietly lay in bed next to Serenity; she had been staring at the ceiling ever since she had ended her conversation with Luna. He turned his head to look at her but then turned his head back to stare at the ceiling. Serenity turned on her side to look at Tala and lay her head on her arm and started to stroke Tala's shoulder with her index finger. Tala turned his head to look at her, "Is something wrong?" Serenity asked softly.

"Not in the slightest, why?" Tala replied.

"You just seem very distant lately and I just thought something was bothering you" Serenity replied softly.

Tala smiled a little, "You worry too much" he told her.

Serenity smiled too and moved closer to him, "Hard to believe that it was six years ago when I first told _you_ that" she shot back teasingly.

"That was six years ago? It seems like just yesterday we met" Tala said.

"Yeah and look at how far we've got; we have a relationship that no one here can beat and we still don't get into trouble despite the fact of friendship and love being forbidden" Serenity said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right" Tala replied, he placed his arm around Serenity and she moved her head and rested it on his chest. She kept it there and closed her eyes, listening to the steady beat of his heart. Within an hour they were both asleep, and lay in their current position for most of the night. Serenity woke up in the middle of the night, she lifted her head off Tala's chest and looked up at him and smiled before kissing him quickly and moving away from him, she lay on her side and fell asleep again.

**---Next Morning---**

Tala was the first to wake up that morning; he looked at Serenity who lay next to him on her side with her back to him. He smiled and leaned closer to her sleeping form. He pulled back a strand of hair that shadowed Serenity's peaceful face and placed it behind her ear. Serenity's eyes fluttered open and she turned on her back to see Tala leaning over her. "What are you looking at?" she asked quietly.

"The most beautiful woman I've ever seen" Tala replied, smiling.

Serenity smiled, "Mmm, do I know her?" she asked.

"As a matter of fact…" Tala started and leaned closer to Serenity and kissed her passionately on the lips, "You do" he finished after pulling away. Serenity smiled and placed her arms around Tala's neck, pulling him down, closer to her. She kissed him deeply yet passionately all the same, she deepened it as much as she could, pulling Tala directly on top of her. Serenity moved out of the kiss a little to breath, after taking in some air, she started off another kiss, sliding her hand up his shirt and resting her hand on his side. After a while Tala's lips moved off Serenity's and he started to trace butterfly kisses down her neck. Serenity closed her eyes and a slight moan of pleasure escaped her. She traced her finger up his chest and after a while she broke out of his gentle hold and he kissed her softly on the lips again.

Tala pulled away and waited for a reaction from his lover. She smiled a lot, more than she ever had before, "Now if you're finished, may I please go to have a shower?" she asked, sliding her hand down and out from under his top. Tala smiled and rolled off her, letting her get out of bed and walking to the bathroom for a shower. He placed his hands behind his head and just lay in bed, waiting for Serenity.

Serenity walked in again after a few minutes, walking up to Tala who still lay lazily in bed and simply kissed him softly again. "Are you happy? I didn't take long in the shower today" she said, smiling.

"I didn't really think about it" Tala replied before getting out of bed. He quickly kissed her on the cheek and left toward the bathroom.

Serenity smiled happily and sat down on her bed and took out her beyblade from under her pillow. _'Someone's happy this morning' _Luna said, smiling.

'_Why shouldn't I be?' _ Serenity asked.

'_No reason you shouldn't be' _Luna replied.

'_What are you up to Luna?' _ Serenity asked.

'_Nothing Mistress, nothing at all' _Luna replied calmly.

'_Now why don't I believe that?' _ Serenity asked, raising an eyebrow.

'_Maybe because you're insecure and over protective?'_ Luna tried.

'_Piss off Luna' _Serenity said.

'_Fine, I will' _Luna said before going back to her place in Serenity's mind.

Serenity sat back, waiting for Tala. He came out a few minutes later and they both went down for training. Boris hadn't seen them train that day but they were given orders to practice tag team matches again. What was very strange and it was something that Serenity noticed easily, when it was Serenity and Tala's turn to battle, Jeremy didn't step up to battle claiming that he wasn't in the mood. Serenity considered it as something strange and definitely abnormal; instead they were made to battle another two kids. That night after dinner everyone went upstairs, though Serenity gestured for Tala to go up without her. Serenity watched as Jeremy walked out of the dining room and quietly followed him up to his room, hiding behind every corner to keep him from noticing her.

Jeremy walked into his room and closed the door behind him and sat on his bed and sighed, closing his eyes. The door opened and his eyes shot open and he turned his head to look at the door to see who it was. Serenity walked in and closed the door behind her, she looked around the room with a slight look of confusion on her features, "Where's Mike?" she asked.

Jeremy sat up, still looking at her, "He has extra training tonight. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to see what's wrong with you" Serenity replied, crossing her arms and stepping forward.

"Well then, you can leave because nothing is wrong with me" Jeremy replied coldly.

"I know that's not true because you would never turn down the chance to battle me" Serenity replied.

"I just didn't want to battle you today" Jeremy said.

"It's not just that, I know something is bothering you. You're not acting like yourself" Serenity fought back.

"It's none of your business, so you can just leave" Jeremy said coldly.

"Whether we like it or not we need to look out for each other if we're stuck in here" Serenity said calmly, leaning against the door.

"I don't need your help and I don't need you to look out for me" Jeremy said angrily, standing up.

"But I know something is wrong and I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me what's holding you back" Serenity said, with a slight tone of anger in her voice.

Jeremy's hard brown eyes softened and he sighed painfully, "I got beat" he replied simply.

"What do you mean you got beat?" Serenity asked, pushing herself away from the door and stepping forward but keeping a large distance from Jeremy. She kept her distance since she knew that Jeremy was about to answer her question and she didn't want to scare him enough to have him pull away from her.

Jeremy sighed again, a sign of wetness appearing in his eyes and he lifted up the left sleeve of his white top, revealing a scraped bruise up his shoulder that moved up to that side of his chest and went half way up his neck. Serenity's eyes widened and she gulped a little, trying to hold back the sorrow she was feeling toward Jeremy. The scrape looked like someone had smashed something against Jeremy's arm, maybe a glass bottle or something hard yet something that could break and cause that much blood. Serenity felt a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach and the thought of Jeremy's pain only made her heart break.

Jeremy saw the look of disgust and sorrow on Serenity's face and quickly lowered his white top, staining the short sleeve with some of his blood. "You can't tell anyone about this" Jeremy said, blinking the tears out of his eyes, not letting tears slip.

Serenity quickly walked over to him and hugged him gently, not putting her arm anywhere near his wounded arm and neck, "Don't worry, I wont tell anyone" she assured him. Jeremy was taken a back by the hug and wasn't sure how to react to it at the time but just placed a hand on her back, holding onto her, feeling a sense of safety wash over him. Serenity gently pulled away when she felt Jeremy flinch and shift a little, she stared at him straight in the eye and made him sit down on the bed. She gently lifted his sleeve again, much to Jeremy's hesitation and slowly ran her finger over the grazed skin, just barely scratching the surface. She told him to wait and she quickly went to the bathroom and got some things to tend to his arm.

Serenity came back with a small first aid kit and set it on the bed next to her, Jeremy kept assuring her that he didn't need her help and that he was going to be fine but that didn't stop Serenity, she cleaned his arm with disinfectant, making Jeremy cringe and wince in pain and then pulled down the collar of the top to tend to the bruised area that was on the lower part of his neck. She continued by tying it up tightly with some gauze and made sure he was ok. "What had you done to deserve this?" she asked, being unable to fight off the urge any longer.

"I don't know…I don't think I did anything. I was just walking in the hall and a guard hit me with something but…I couldn't tell what it was. One minute I'm walking, next minute I see something about to hit me and then I just feel a sharp pain on my arm but…I don't know what it was exactly" Jeremy explained quietly, stammering through his statements.

"So you did nothing wrong?" Serenity asked.

"Not that I know of" Jeremy replied, shaking his head a little.

"Boris and the guards are getting on my last nerve and I swear I just want to go up to them and…" Serenity started off with anger and frustration in her voice but stopped herself since she was still in front of Jeremy and what she was going to say was something she wouldn't want to be questioned about later.

Jeremy held back his urge to ask her what she was going to say but decided to move onto a more important question, "Why did you help me and…why do you even care?" he asked.

"Well…because besides your annoying ego, your horrible attitude toward everyone and your words toward women, you seem like a good guy, and I still consider you a friend despite how we've been on each other's bad sides for the past six years" Serenity replied, smiling and laughing a little at the end.

Jeremy smiled a little, "So we're friends?" he asked.

"Yeah…we're friends" Serenity replied, smiling sweetly.

"Then…I need to ask, why do you care about other people, I mean they've done nothing but hurt you and be rude to you so, why do you still care about them so much?" Jeremy asked.

"I cant hurt other people, we are all alive for a reason and my reason of being here is to protect innocents and every person here is innocent and I'm not going to let any of them get hurt and that must be the reason why it huts so much to think that you got hut and I didn't know about it" Serenity said, looking away.

"You really believe that we all have a purpose in life?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, I do. It may not be apparent to us at the moment but we'll find our purposes…in time" Serenity said, getting off the bed and looking down as he stared up into her deep-blue eyes. After a moment of silence, she walked to the door and opened it a little, "I'll see you tomorrow for training" she said before leaving the room.

Serenity walked down the hall, _'How could I let this happen? How could I be so blind? Of coarse he was the one that got hurt, I mean couldn't I have noticed by his attitude earlier. I'm so stupid'_ she thought to herself, blaming herself for any blood spilt on an innocent.

'_Mistress it wasn't your fault, you can't blame yourself for what happened'_ Luna said reasonably to her Mistress.

'_Cant I? I should have done something Luna, I know that I have to be here to protect everyone but I couldn't even protect Jeremy' _Serenity fought back.

'_You didn't know. Boris probably knew that you would protect Jeremy so he kept you away till a guard got the job done' _Luna said.

'_But I should have been able to help' _Serenity said again.

'_And you didn't?' _Luna asked, _'You provided Jeremy with guidance and support, you helped him as much as you could' _she continued.

'_I guess I did help a little but I wish I could have done something to help stop it from happening in the first place' _Serenity said, sighing a little.

'_Mistress…are you going to be ok?' _Luna asked, worriedly.

'_Yeah Luna, I'll be fine now, thanks' _Serenity replied, smiling a little at her bit-beasts worry toward her.

'_Good. Call me if you need me' _Luna said.

'_Sure, thanks Luna'_ Serenity said, before stepping into her bedroom.

Luna went back to Serenity's mind and Serenity walked over to the bathroom only to be stopped by Tala on the way there. "Where were you? What happened?" he asked, walking up behind her.

Serenity turned round to look at him, a slight look of pain still evident in her eyes, she sighed and thought for a second, "Jeremy got hurt and I couldn't stop it" she whispered.

"Jeremy?" Tala asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we've been looking at him all wrong. He's been getting hurt and nobody has known about it" Serenity explained.

"And you know this how?" Tala asked.

"I forced it out of him; he's been acting strangely for a long time but I just kept brushing it off but when he didn't battle us today, I knew something was wrong and had to ask him about it" Serenity continued explaining quietly.

Serenity turned round again and placed her hand on the door, about to push it open but strong arms wrapped around her waist and Tala kissed her on the cheek, "Don't worry too much about him, he's been ok with it for a long time now" he told her, trying to calm her down a little.

"That's the problem, he's been holding this up for so long that I think he's finally going to crack and we both know what happened to you when you cracked under the pressure" Serenity said, tilting her head back a little.

"Just relax; we'll work on this some other time" Tala told her, quickly kissing her again and letting go of her.

"I can't assure anything but I'll try" Serenity said, after sighing and then she walked into the bathroom. She stared into the mirror and leaned against the sink a little, "Help me" she muttered under her breath.

"Help you with what?" Tala asked, leaning against the door frame.

Serenity turned round to see Tala in the doorway and sighed in relief when she saw him there, but still had a hint of anger. "Don't you ever knock?" she asked.

"I stopped knocking four years ago" Tala replied, pushing himself away from the door frame and walking up to her. "You still can't bring yourself to relax, can you?" he asked, stroking her cheek softly.

"Not when I know it's my fault it happened" Serenity replied, closing her eyes; enjoying the feeling of the cold hand against her hot cheek.

"What will take your mind of it for a while?" Tala asked, stepping closer to her.

"I don't know" Serenity whispered. Tala kissed her softly on the lips and Serenity opened her eyes quickly but closed her eyes again and embraced the passionate kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gently pulled away, breathing heavily, "I think we're making this a habit" she whispered between breaths.

"I think we shouldn't care" Tala whispered back, before kissing her again. Serenity went along with the kiss, putting Jeremy behind her. She deepened the kiss more and both of them continued the kiss walking out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Serenity lay back on the bed, Tala leaning over her, still going on with the kiss. He traced his hand along her leg and his other hand rested on her side. Serenity moved her hand up to her chest and undid a string; she pulled a little out of the kiss to breath but moved back up to him. He moved his lips off hers and traced kissed across her jaw line and then down her neck.

**(A/N: You didn't really think that I would write out the rest of that scene did you? Well, you're sorely mistaken my friends. I am a Scorpio and by the astrological charts I am related to sex but I wouldn't write it out like this.) **

Serenity opened her eyesand she looked around the room, she looked by her side to see a sleeping Tala, she pulled the covers over his chest and kissed him lightly on the cheek. She pulled the covers tighter around her bare body and reached for her nightgown that lay on the bottom of the bed. She loosened her grip on the covers and pulled the gown over her head and fastened the string again. She quickly checked the time, 11:30pm. She stood up on her bed and jumped onto the window sill and stared out at the full moon and started speaking in a quiet voice, "Mom, you really need to help me trough all of this. I'm supposed to be a soldier, the soldier who never blows her composure, even though I hold the weight of the whole world on my shoulders. I should never show it, my friends aren't supposed to know it." She started whispering more quietly, holding back tears that threatened to fall.

"I'd never drag them into battles that I can handle, unless I absolutely have to. I have never had to go through something like this before and I feel you can help me. As much as I know where you are, I still know that you care." Serenity continued whispering softly, blinking any sign of wetness out of her eyes.

"Serenity" Tala whispered, sitting up in bed. Serenity looked down to see him sit up and tighten the blanket around himself, "I thought you would have left" he said.

Serenity smiled, "I would have but I couldn't find all my clothes" she said.

Tala smiled and laughed a little at Serenity's statement, "Hey…I've been meaning to ask you this for a long time now but never found the right time to…" he said but paused a little at the end.

Serenity frowned a little and sat down on the window sill, "What do you want to ask?" she asked nervously.

"Why…even though your mother put you through so much pain…you still pray to her, why?" Tala asked confusedly.

Serenity sighed a little in relief but then went over his question and sighed in frustration, "If I tell you my answer than you'll think I'm insane" she said simply.

"I've known you for six years, your only a little insane" Tala replied laughing a little.

Serenity laughed, "Ok, so this is my crazy story; we all have past lives and my past life was on the moon, many years ago but I got killed when I was fourteen and my mother used her powers to bring me back to life and send me here. And now here I am." She said. Tala looked at her strangely, so Serenity decided to go into a little more detail, "When people are reincarnated…they have no idea who they were in their past lives but I know mine because…" she paused for a second and held back more tears as memories flooded her mind, "I remember when my mother died" she finished.

Tala frowned a little when he saw the sadness in Serenity's deep blue eyes, that she had let drop to the floor, avoiding his gaze. "How do you know it wasn't just a dream that you had when you were younger?" he asked.

Serenity looked at him, "When I was three years old, I used to say things like 'I remember when my mother died' and 'you're not my mother' to my earth parents. They used to tease me about it but when I got older I realized what it was I was saying and I have living proof that shows that I am right about my reincarnation" she explained.

"What proof?" Tala asked.

"Me" Said a young, innocent voice. With those words, Luna appeared in the middle of the room. "I am the most proof Serenity will ever have of her past" she continued.

Tala looked back at Serenity who had turned her head to look out of the window, Tala knew she was close to tears and with a wave of his hand he dismissed Luna, who nodded and disappeared back into her blade. "You probably think I'm an idiot" Serenity whispered, not taking her eyes away from the shining full moon outside.

"If you would have told me something like this when we first met, then I would have thought that you were crazy but now, I believe you" Tala said.

"Really? You believe me?" Serenity asked, turning to look at him again.

"Yeah, if you believe in your past then I believe in it too" Tala replied.

Serenity smiled and jumped off the window sill and sat next to him, she kissed him quickly and passionately on the lips. She kissed him furiously yet passionately and they both felt heat from the kiss, something about this one kiss was different from all the rest. Maybe because now that Tala knew and she didn't have to hide anything from him she was able to show her love for him more.

**A/N: **So what did you think of the chapter? I hope you liked it, sorry I took long to update but I got my results for my mid yearly and they were good but my mum likes to torture me and she doesn't let me near a computer. So Bye for now.


	6. A New Room mate and more hope

**Chapter 6**

That night both Tala and Serenity slept peacefully near each other. Serenity was the first to wake up the next morning, she slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position and she clutched her stomach when she felt sick suddenly. She sat there for a minute and the uneasiness subsided.

She slowly pushed herself out of bed and walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She rested against the door and took in a deep breath. She then undressed which didn't take very long since all she had on at the time was her night gown. She stepped into the shower and let the warm water run down her neck; she leaned against the wall and shuddered when the cold stone came in contact with her bare skin. She tried to clear her mind but realised that the sound of the water crashing onto the stone floor had been making her feel sick.

She quickly turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She changed into her skirt and top but left her jacket off for a while. She fixed her hair and just let it fall over her shoulders. Feeling another wave of uneasiness wash over her, she went back to the bedroom and sat on the spare bed. She sat there, trying to relax a little and hoping the bad feeling in her would stop soon. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, suddenly not feeling up for training that followed not too long later in the day.

After a few minutes Tala woke up and saw Serenity sitting on the spare bed by the door, "Morning" he said.

Serenity opened her eyes and looked at him and smiled sweetly, "Morning" she replied.

"Are you ok? You don't look too good" Tala stated and asked.

"I'm fine" Serenity replied simply.

Tala nodded and went to the bathroom to change for training. Serenity closed her eyes again and instantly felt Luna enter her mind, _'Mistress, aren't you feeling well?' _Luna asked.

'_I'm fine Luna, it's nothing to worry about'_ Serenity replied bluntly.

'_Almost every time you say that nothing is wrong in fact something would be wrong' _Luna stated.

'_It's nothing to worry about Luna' _Serenity repeated calmly.

'_Is it about telling Tala about your past? – Because I don't think he'll tell anyone and that you can most definitely trust him' _Luna said quickly.

Serenity smiled lightly through her pain, _'Calm down Luna, I know I can trust him and it has nothing to do with last night'_ she said.

'_I was hoping that it didn't'_ Luna said, sighing in relief, _'So what does it have to do with then?'_ she asked.

Serenity sighed in frustration, _'I told you that nothing is wrong' _she said yet again.

'_Please Mistress, if something is bothering you then please tell me' _Luna pleaded worriedly.

'_I promise that you would be the first to know' _Serenity assured.

'_Thank you Mistress' _Luna replied gratefully.

Serenity mentally nodded in reply to her bit-beast and Luna quickly left Serenity's mind when Tala walked in.

"We can go now" Tala announced to Serenity.

"About time" Serenity said teasingly, slowly getting off the bed and opening the door.

Tala smiled a little and walked out the door behind Serenity, closing the door behind him. The whole day went on as usual, though Serenity was a little distracted from training for two main reasons. The first was that she was keeping a close eye on Jeremy in case something happened. The second was because she often felt light headed and was occasionally seen leaning against the wall for some support.

Both Tala and Serenity went to their room and Serenity had gone to change first but Tala thought that something was wrong with her when she took longer time than usual to come out. Instead of walking in on Serenity, he walked over to the dressing table and picked up Serenity's icy beyblade. He clutched it tightly in his hand and concentrated on the bit-chip.

Luna appeared in front of him and looked around confusedly, "How did I end up here? How did you summon me?" Luna continued asking.

Tala shrugged and said that he just concentrated and called her out.

"And here I thought you were powerless" Luna said smiling, "Why have you summoned me?" Luna asked in a more serious tone.

"Something is wrong with Serenity and I'm starting to get worried, what is wrong with her?" Tala asked his team mate's bit-beast.

Luna sighed and her eyes saddened, "I have just confronted my Mistress about the matter; she doesn't fully understand but I can tell that it is nothing too serious and nothing you should be worried about right now" she concluded.

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" Tala asked, folding his arms.

"I care about my Mistress greatly and would do anything to assure her safety; I am assuring you that she will be fine" Luna continued.

"You better not be lying to me" Tala said in a warning tone.

Luna smiled a little and replied that she wouldn't lie about something as important as her Mistress' safety and told Tala to give Serenity a few more minutes and not to worry too much since Serenity doesn't need to be put under the pressure of worrying about him if he gets sick. Luna returned to her blade and Tala sat on his bed; still feeling a hint of worry nagging at his heart. In no time at all Serenity walked into the bedroom, looking much better than before. She wasn't as pale as she was earlier and now you could see she was feeling better through her eyes whereas before they reflected her hidden pain. You could also tell because she didn't rely on the wall for support but instead moved without feeling any pain.

She smiled sweetly at Tala and sat next to him on the bed. She quickly kissed him on the neck and smiled more when he turned to look at her. "Luna told me you were worried about me" Serenity started, "If something were wrong and it were serious then I promised myself and now I will promise you that you and Luna will be the first ones to know. But right now, nothing is wrong and nothing is worth worrying about" she told him softly.

Tala nodded and kissed Serenity quickly and softly on the lips before leaving to change for dinner. Serenity picked up her beyblade from the dressing table where Tala had left it and brought it up to her heart. "Thanks for being my friend Luna" she whispered softly.

She pulled the blade away in time to see the blade gleam in the moonlight which was Luna's reply of, _'Not a problem Mistress' _

Serenity smiled more and was thankful for what she had. It was times like these that drowned out the pain she had gone through and made her love life more. Tala walked a few minutes later and they both ran downstairs to the dining room since they were going to be late. They both started eating when they got there but Serenity was having trouble eating all her food; she had made herself eat as much as she could but didn't eat the last piece of bread, feeling that she couldn't eat more than she already had.

When they had finished, they both went back to their room and quietly lay in bed. Training had been harsh that day and so it didn't take long for both of them to fall asleep.

**---Next Morning---**

Tala was the first to wake up and saw Serenity lying next to him. He smiled at the childish expression on Serenity's young face. He looked up at the time and noticed it was still very early in the morning to get up, so he decided to rest for a little while longer. He placed an arm around Serenity's waist and held her close to him, closing his eyes.

Within the next two hours both bladers were awake, changed and already training hard. Serenity still kept watching Jeremy but this was a day that Serenity knew would come and dreaded the most; she was forced to battle Jeremy. It wasn't that she wasn't strong enough to beat him, it was because if she won then he would have extra training and probably beaten and the same would happen to her if she lost. She kept the battle going for as long as she could but knew that the battle couldn't last forever and Jeremy knew it too. In the end Jeremy let Serenity win the battle, Serenity was furious but had to go along with it or else Jeremy's loss would have been in vain.

Jeremy was taken to extra training, all Serenity could do was sit on the side lines and feel the grit of her teeth. She wasn't going to let Jeremy get away with what he had done. She wanted to find out why Jeremy would something that she titled 'stupid', she just hated the thought of Jeremy letting her win, she was also upset over the fact that he took the blows for her. Through out the battle Jeremy kept holding back attacks and Serenity didn't want that though if Jeremy didn't lose then she would've.

She wanted to find out more about what happened and why Jeremy lost on purpose so after training when Tala was in the shower, she snuck out of the room and went to find Jeremy in his room. She walked into his room and noticed he wasn't there yet; she waited five minutes before Jeremy walked in from the hall and didn't see Serenity when he closed the door. He turned to go to the bathroom but saw Serenity standing by the door, "What are you doing here?" he asked, between breaths.

"Checking if you were ok" Serenity lied, pushing herself off the door.

"Well training wasn't too bad so I'm fine" Jeremy stated, sitting on the bed, the harsh training finally getting to him.

"Good, if you're fine then maybe you could answer another one of my queries; why on Earth did you lose to me on purpose?" Serenity asked with anger in her voice but didn't raise her voice above her usual level.

Jeremy sighed but didn't take his eyes off her, "Rumour has it that you have a plan of escaping, is it true?" Jeremy asked.

"Yeah, it's true" Serenity replied simply.

"That's why I did it, if you really believe that it is possible to escape then others will believe it too, so I couldn't let something happen to you if you're close to getting out of here" Jeremy explained.

"That's why you did it," Serenity said, "You really have that much hope in my plans?" she asked.

"I've seen you fight off kids, guards and even Boris, I have no doubt that you will manage to escape" Jeremy replied.

"Thanks…I think you gave me the last bit of hope I need to finish my plans" Serenity told him softly and her hardened eyes softening immensely.

"I'm just saying what I think" Jeremy said.

_When you say it's going to happen 'now',  
well when exactly do you mean?  
see I've already waited too long,  
and all my hope is gone,_

You shut your mouth  
How can you say  
I go about things the wrong way  
I am human and I need to be loved  
Just like everybody else does

"We will be free soon, I promise you that" Serenity said, "Well thanks anyway, I better go, Tala is probably looking for me and I don't feel so good" she said, placing her hands on her stomach when she felt pain rising in her.

"Are you ok?" Jeremy asked, standing up.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Serenity said, making a quick walk to the door and opening to leave. "Thanks again" she said quickly before leaving. She walked to her room and practically ran into her room.

"Where were you?" Tala asked when Serenity ran into the room.

"With Jeremy" Serenity replied quickly before going to the bathroom. She walked to the medicine cupboard and pulled out one of the small vials that she always kept, quickly drinking it and not caring how bad it had tasted as long as it took away the pain she felt. Drinking to the very last drop, she tossed the empty vial back into the cupboard and rested against the sink, feeling the antidote starting to take affect on her. She undressed and took a cold shower, the pain slowly dieing down. She got out of the shower and dried herself off before changing into her night gown. She rested against the sink as usual and looked at herself in the mirror, after sighing she pushed herself away from the sink and walked out to the bedroom.

Serenity quietly got into bed and lay on her side and closed her eyes tightly, she soon fell asleep since the battle with Jeremy took a lot of energy out of her and the sickness she was feeling was only making things worse for her. She slept peacefully for about half an hour and Tala watched over her for a while, he didn't have the heart to wake her up for dinner but knew that Boris would come after her if she wasn't there. Tala gently shook Serenity awake slowly; she stirred and sat up in her bed.

They both went down to dinner and Serenity ate as much as she could, she managed to eat all her food since the drink she had from the vial earlier made her feel better and eating made the antidote work better and eating didn't make her feel sick like it had the night before. When they were done they were called away to Boris' office, Serenity feeling fear strike her when they entered Boris' office and saw a stupid and creepy looking grin on his face.

Boris saw the fear that could be seen in Serenity's face, "Don't worry Serenity, for once I am not here to scold you" he said, smirking more at Serenity's scared reaction.

"Then what do you want?" Serenity asked, returning to her cold exterior and icy tone.

Boris enjoyed seeing Serenity change back to her cold self but instead of commenting on it he just cut to the chase, "Another one of my top soldiers has been somewhat…distracted lately and has been losing most of his battles. A lot of guards assume it is lack of sleep, so…I am transferring him to your room. He has been one of my best bladers for a long time now and I can not afford to lose him now, so you are both in charge to keep an eye on him, is that clear?" Boris asked sternly.

"Yes sir" Serenity and Tala said in unison.

"Good, currently Bryan still has training but should be in your room shortly" Boris concluded.

'_Fantastic'_ Serenity thought sarcastically.

"Dismissed" Boris said.

Serenity and Tala left the office quickly and started to walk up to their room. "So there goes our evening" Tala said as they walked through the empty halls.

"It doesn't make a difference, I can't stay up anymore, that battle with Jeremy really knocked everything out of me" Serenity said, walking into the bedroom and flopping down on her stomach onto the bed.

"Yeah, I know what you mean" Tala agreed, lying lazily next to her.

Serenity turned onto her back since lying on her stomach wasn't the safest position to be in, in her condition. Ten minutes of silence and their bedroom door opened and a guard roughly pushed a boy into the room. Serenity sat up quickly and clutched her stomach when the sudden movement hurt her insides and she eyed the boy at the door suspiciously. The boy was around their age or maybe just a year younger and he held a back pack that was first on his shoulder but the push from the guard dropped it to the floor. Bryan turned to the door just when the guard closed it behind him, he sighed and picked up his bag and tossed it onto his bed. Not taking in any account of his two room mates, he just went to the bathroom to change.

Serenity brushed off the abrupt the departure of her new room mate and instead tried her best to relax since the sudden movement from earlier made her feel worse and her head pounded in her skull and it just hurt too much to move. Tala noticed it and just sat next to her as she tried to fall asleep. Serenity finally fell asleep and Tala placed the covers tighter around her, he lay in bed and fell asleep too but left the bedroom light on so that Bryan had some light when he walked into the room.

Bryan came into the room a few minutes later and noticed his new room mates asleep. He noticed how close they were but just brushed off the subject and switched off the light in the room and got into his bed. Sleep overcame him quickly but troubled dreams cut his peaceful sleep short, he started to tremble and by the look etched on his features you could tell he was in pain. He tried his hardest to wake up but his efforts were useless but at around two in the morning he pulled together enough strength to wake up. He shot up in his bed, breathing heavily and he placed a trembling hand on his chest hoping to slow down his heart rate.

Unknowingly, Serenity had woken up in the middle of the night and was watching him as he sat up. She closed her eyes so he wouldn't notice her and had noticed something dripping off Bryan's face but wasn't sure if it was sweat or tears or maybe even both. Bryan sat with his back against the wall, trying his hardest to calm himself. Serenity wanted to see what he would do next so didn't show him that she was watching, instead she just lay low. Bryan rested his head against the wall and sighed a little, he lay down again but because he knew the nightmares would come back he tried to stay awake.

Serenity watched as he turned uncomfortably in bed as he tried to remain awake, she didn't know whether she should talk to him to find out the problem but then even if she knew what could she do to help? Finally the good in her won the best of her and she opened her eyes and sat up a little on her side. "Hey, are you ok over there?" she asked.

Bryan sighed and closed his eyes, "I'm fine" he said coldly.

"You don't look so fine to me, are you sure you're ok?" Serenity asked again, getting out of bed and slowly walking to him.

"I am fine" Bryan repeated calmly.

Serenity didn't look convinced and sat next to Bryan on his bed, she looked at his face to see him wince sometimes, she pushed a strand of hair away from his tear stained face but Bryan slapped her hand away from him. Serenity didn't seem fazed by what he had done but moved her hand toward him and wiped a drying tear from his face. "Get some sleep" she told him.

"I'm not tired" Bryan replied, in an icy tone.

"Tired or not you better get some sleep or you wont be able to battle to your best abilities tomorrow" Serenity said with a slightly more stern tone.

"I'm fine, just stay away from me" Bryan said, opening his eyes and staring at her coldly.

"What is scaring you?" Serenity asked suddenly.

"I'm afraid of nothing" Bryan spat coldly, glaring at Serenity with anger in his eyes.

"Then why are you so afraid to fall asleep?" Serenity asked, trying to out smart him.

"I'm not afraid" Bryan said again.

"Being afraid is nothing to be ashamed of" Serenity said, but Bryan didn't answer her or show her any sign of attention. She moved her hand up to his arm and gripped it tightly, "Whatever it is that is keeping you up, it wont scare you again so go to sleep" she said before getting off the bed and getting back into her own bed, "Good night" she said. Bryan closed his eyes and sighed, he wanted to sleep but the nightmares wouldn't let him so he didn't even try, being afraid of what the dreams would have install for him if he fell asleep again. Painful memories entering his mind, he screwed his eyes shut as if trying to block out the horrible memories but tears still streamed down his face.

'_Luna'_ Serenity called.

'_Yes Mistress'_ Luna replied.

'_Find out what it is that is hurting it and stop it' _Serenity ordered her bit beast.

'_I will try my best Mistress' _Luna said before disappearing to help Bryan. Serenity soon fell asleep since she was still very weak from her sickness and her battle with Jeremy and waking up at two in the morning wasn't helping her at all.

Bryan felt a sense of safety wash over him and felt troubling memories escape his mind. In little time he fell asleep and nothing bothered him all night. Serenity woke up again at four in the morning and saw Bryan sleeping peacefully and noticed that the look on his face was more serene than pained. She smiled and got out of bed since she still wasn't feeling very well. She went to the bathroom and looked at her face in the mirror; she was very pale but through her eyes you could see that she wasn't in too much pain. She switched on the tap and placed her hands under the running cold water, and splashed cold water on her face. She dried her neck from the extra water and went back to her bed and lay in bed staring at the ceiling.

At five in the morning both Tala and Bryan were still asleep but Serenity was very much awake. She decided to better get a head start in the day and so she quickly went to wash and change. She came out to find Tala starting to stir, he sat up and turned to Serenity, "Morning" he said.

"Morning" Serenity said, sitting next to him.

Serenity turned to look at Bryan who still lay in bed sleeping soundly, "Did something happen?" Tala asked, when he noticed Serenity's worried gaze.

"Yeah, something happened though Luna fixed it" Serenity replied quietly.

"Something to worry about?" Tala asked.

"I don't think so" Serenity said, shaking her head.

"Good, I'm going to change" Tala said, getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom after kissing Serenity lightly on the lips.

**---4:00pm---**

Later that day training had started as usual but Serenity was quietly sitting in her room on her bed. She heard someone scream and she covered her ears but noticed that the scream wasn't one that could be stopped since the scream was going on in her head and noticed that the scream of pain was from Luna. _'Luna what's wrong? Do you feel something?' _she questioned, drawing her hands away from her ears.

'_Someone is in deep pain' _Luna replied between breaths.

'_Pain? What kind of pain Luna?' _Serenity asked.

'_Physical and emotional' _Luna stated.

'_Ok Luna, lead me to him' _Serenity said walking out into the hall. Serenity followed all of Luna's directions and finally came to one of the main stair cases and gasped. Bryan had collapsed on his knees, with a hand gripping the wall to keep himself from falling down the stairs, his clothes were torn and covered in thick red blood that had seeped out of whip lashes that covered his entire body and bruises could be seen though most of them were covered in blood so were not completely visible but Serenity knew they were there. Serenity ran as fast as she could down the stairs and knelt beside him, noticing that his breathing was shallow and came out only in short gasps. "Oh my God, what happened?" Serenity asked, moving closer to Bryan.

"Stay…away from me…please" Bryan said pushing Serenity away, almost losing his grip on the wall and falling back.

"No chance in hell, you can't even get up and you think I'm going to leave you here to die, like hell I would" Serenity said, helping Bryan off the ground and helping him up the stairs. Bryan tried to fight his way out of her grip but felt far too weak to fight her. Serenity helped him into their bedroom and Bryan instantly sat on his bed, Serenity placed Bryan's pillow against the wall and put the blanket over it and pushed him back against the pillow. He sat back and tried hard to breathe but the pain from his wounds only made it harder to breath and even gasping for air hurt. Serenity helped him remove his jacket, Bryan winced when the tough material scratched his cut skin, "Ok, I need you to remove your shirt or else I can't get to the wounds" She told him softly.

Bryan reluctantly removed his shirt when he saw the kindness in Serenity's eyes and noticed that she would help him and not hurt him. But still had to ask, "Why are you helping me?" he asked between breaths.

"I'm not going to leave you to bleed to death and I would never leave anyone to fend for themselves, it wouldn't have been right for me to leave you on your own and in pain" Serenity called from the bathroom, coming back out with a whole first aid kit. When Serenity saw the marks covering Bryan, she seemed to feel the pain he was in and couldn't take it but proceed in tending to the cuts on his back first. She dabbed some antiseptic on a clean piece of cloth and slowly tended to the long whiplashes that snacked all over his back. Bryan flinched a couple of times when the stinging medicine touched the burning cuts, he drew his breath in sharply and tried to keep the pain under control but the deeper the cuts were, the more they hurt. "I'm sorry, I know it hurts but I need to tend to them" she said honestly, really looking apologetic towards him.

"Why are you even up here? Shouldn't you be at training?" Bryan asked through gritted teeth.

Serenity continued to tend to the cuts and used this opportunity make a conversation to get Bryan's mind off the cuts, "I have special permission from Boris to keep me out of training for today and tomorrow" she said, as she ran the cloth along a deeper gash.

"Why?" Bryan asked, gripping the sheets on his bed tightly.

Serenity smiled a little, "That's my problem not yours" she said.

Bryan blushed a little when he realised what she meant and blushing was strange because of all the blood he had lost but somehow a deep blush managed to sneak up to his cheeks. He cringed when something pulled against his back and he felt a heat that felt like fire where it brushed, "What was that?" he asked, shutting his eyes when antiseptic touched that same place.

"Nothing sweetie" Serenity said, she had actually pulled off a piece of pealing skin and it had to be removed to have the wound cleaned properly and she had then moved the cloth onto it to stop any more bleeding. Serenity had wrapped soft bandages around Bryan's chest and back and moved to tend to his arms. The cuts on his arms were all tended to and she managed to tend to them without hurting Bryan anymore.

She then knelt down on the floor in front of him, so that even though his head was lowered she was able to tend to a bruise that was just under Bryan's eye. She gently tended to it and tried not to press to hard against it but still get to the root of it. She finished tending to all the cuts and asked, "Does that feel better?" she asked softly.

Bryan nodded and pulled his white top on(the one he usually sleeps with), and sat back with his back against the pillow, Serenity packed away the first aid kit and put it back in the bathroom. She came back and saw that Bryan had already fallen asleep; she slowly walked over to him and knelt down near the bed before pulling the thin covers over him. She got up and went to lie on her bed to get some rest herself, she closed her eyes and tried to rest. She fell asleep in very little time since she still felt very weak and the main reason she was made to stay in bed was because Boris noticed that she seemed unwell and didn't want anything to happen to his top 'soldier' so she was made to rest and stay in her room.

Serenity woke up at half eight and noticed that Bryan was still asleep, she couldn't blame him, Boris had really hurt him and he was lucky that Luna had felt his pain and they had found him in time, otherwise he might not have survived on his own. She got out of bed and walked over to Bryan and noticed that everything seemed back to normal; he wasn't as pale as usual and his breathing was back to normal and was going at a good pace.

She concluded that he was going to be fine and decided to go have a shower before he woke up. She had a cold shower and changed into her night gown, feeling a little sick she walked back into the bedroom and sat on her bed. She wasn't sure what this sickness was and what she could have done to get it but now that she had it she was scared because she wasn't quite sure what was wrong with her.

Tala walked in a few minutes later, Serenity walked up to him and kissed him deeply until he heard him moan and then she noticed him cringe in pain. She pulled away and saw a cut on Tala's side. She gasped, "You're hurt" she stated, leading him to the bathroom, Serenity soaked a piece of cloth in cold water and placed it on the wound even though Tala kept assuring her that it was nothing, claiming he hardly felt it.

Once it stopped bleeding, Tala went to have a shower and change for dinner while Serenity went back to the bedroom. She walked over to Bryan and gently shook him awake, being very careful not to touch any of his wounds. Bryan woke up with a start and sat up quickly, ignoring the pain from the whiplashes, "Hey, relax it's only me" Serenity whispered softly, pushing him back down into bed. "You just fell asleep, are you going to be ok to come down for dinner with us?" Serenity asked gently.

Bryan nodded and sat up slowly again and he rubbed his sore neck. Serenity placed a gentle hand on his back but he pushed it away as before, Serenity looked away from him and went back to her bed. She remembered that Luna said she felt emotional pain coming from Bryan so maybe he was like Jeremy, maybe that since he didn't grow up with anyone he started to act really cold toward other people. She wasn't sure but thought that was a possible reason, she could be wrong and it wouldn't be the first time. She hated it when someone first glanced at her and thought something bad about her and they would get the wrong idea about her. They would often look at her as though she did something wrong when in actual fact she had never done anything wrong. She didn't want to judge Bryan they way so many others had judged her but she still wished to know what it was that was bothering him.

Serenity heard Tala calling her name and she opened her eyes again, "Come on, we have to go" he told her. Serenity sat up, not being sure how long she had been resting for and wasn't very sure how long she had zoned out for either.

They all walked down to dinner together but had to eat separately since Bryan sat on the other side of the dining room on his own. It's not he wanted to be alone but it was like that for so long that he never even bothered staying with someone else. He pretended to enjoy sitting alone but it doesn't mean a thing, maybe there are times that he wishes that he could eat dinner with someone but in time that never happened so he gave up on it. **(A/N: This isn't always true, I love staying alone and I would do anything to get other girls at school to stay away from me during break. I would need to clear my head of all the stuff that got into my head during lessons and I need to do that alone but nobody understands that.) **

After dinner all three bladers had gone back up to their room along with every other kid in the abbey who couldn't wait to get some sleep after their long day of training. All three bladers lay in their beds and Serenity fell asleep instantly and Tala slept soon after, Bryan though took very long to sleep since his injuries made it harder to find a comfortable position on the uncomfortable bed. He couldn't sleep at first, so he just stared at the moon outside and fell asleep at around eleven at night when he couldn't fight the exhaustion and blood loss any longer. No nightmares interfered with his night, it was like each night fate had something install for him. One night it is nightmares that he can't stand and the next it is an aching body of injuries. He had more peaceful dreams that night, he had heard that Serenity had plans to escape and those were the dreams he enjoyed and the dreams he once held closes to his heart but after a while lost faith but after getting to know Serenity, he thought that maybe dreams could become a reality. Maybe with a little hope they could be free and Serenity held enough hope for the whole abbey.

What were the nightmares you ask? The nightmares were the exact opposite, they were the horrible thoughts of being stuck in the abbey all his life, feeling like the prisoner he had been for the last fifteen years. Feeling what he had gone through for many more years to come, horrible memories of the past flooding his mind. But that was the past, things could change and hopefully they would change soon and for the better.

**A/N: **This is the longest chapter I have ever written, I would like to thank all my readers and reviewers but most of all I would like to thank my school friend, Amy, for her support of my stories and it was because of her that this chapter is up a day early, so you should all thank her, otherwise you would have had to wait till tomorrow night for it. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter and please review in length as I have written this chapter. Please tell me what you thought of the chapter, and the next chapter should be up in a couple of days. Till then please review! Bye, my friends!


	7. A Break Through or A Break Down

**Chapter 7**

**---Next Morning---**

Bryan slowly started to stir and he sat up slowly so as not to hurt himself anymore. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and his vision was still blurry and sitting up made him feel a headache coming on. "Morning" a voice greeted sweetly.

Bryan looked up sharply at the speaker but relaxed when he saw that the speaker was actually Serenity. She was sitting up in bed and hadn't changed despite how early she had woken up that morning. He saw that something was missing or at least someone, he noticed that Tala was missing from the room and the bathroom door was open so he couldn't have been changing. "Where's Tala?" he asked, but realized that his voice came out rather raspy and rubbed his burning sore throat.

"He went down for training" Serenity replied simply.

"What? Training already started?" Bryan asked almost yelling, stretching his vocal cords enough to make him stop and making him regret his sudden out burst.

"No but he thought he would start early, don't ask me why because I have no idea" Serenity said, smiling at the end of her statement. "It's still early so you can rest for a little while longer" she told him, kindly.

"Once I'm awake I might as well get up" Bryan said, pushing himself out of bed. Pain rushed through his injured body but he managed to stand up and walk to the bathroom to change and Serenity watched after him and then lied down in bed. She was worried about him since he often trained by himself and wasn't sure if he could handle more training after yesterday's injuries.

Bryan came out of the bathroom and asked Serenity if she was training or if she was staying in her room that day and she replied that she would be staying in her room and they were Boris' strictest orders. Bryan left the room and down for training about ten minutes later which left Serenity alone in her room. She lay in bed and felt rather lonely and bored after two hours but what could she do?

At one in the afternoon Serenity already felt hungry and went out of her room and down the hall. She went down to the training room and walked up to Boris who was supervising training, Tala got distracted by her and looked at her to see if something was wrong and why she was talking to Boris. He watched as Serenity nodded to Boris and left the room just before shooting Tala a look that told him that nothing was wrong. Serenity walked to the dining room and walked to an adjoining room which was a large kitchen. She walked up to a basket that lay on a counter and took three apples and walked back up to her room. She placed two of the apples on the dressing table and took a bit out of the apple; she ate the apple and threw the extra away. She walked back to the bedroom but felt a little light headed and apparently so did Luna. She fell forward but kept herself up by stopping herself on her hands and knees, but in little time she finally collapsed and fell forward on the hard abbey floors.

Everything had gone dark, she couldn't tell what was happening but she just felt pain rush through her body before finally feeling nothing when merciful unconsciousness overwhelmed her, temporarily easing the pain. She couldn't see anything and was sure that she was on the floor but she couldn't push herself off the ground. Finally she gave in to the darkness and stopped trying to push herself up. Instead she felt nothing and just lay in the darkness, breathing was hard and labored but she kept breathing even if the pain killed her.

An hour before dinner, Tala and Bryan were walking up to their room. Tala opened the door and stopped in the doorway, Bryan who had been staring at the ground hadn't seen Tala stop so he bumped into him. The first thing he saw was the shocked and scared look on Tala's face and then looked forward to see what it was that shocked him so much; he saw Serenity lying unconscious on the floor.

Tala ran to Serenity and knelt down beside her, followed by Bryan who shut the door tightly behind them. Tala turned Serenity onto her back to see her breathing heavily but still had a peaceful look. "Is she ok?" Bryan asked, kneeling down by Serenity's side and picking up one of her cold hands.

Tala picked Serenity up bridal style, slowly as not to hurt her and set her gently on the bed. "I think she'll be fine" he replied, trying to convince Bryan as much as himself.

Serenity heard foot steps getting closer to her and panicked when she thought it might be Boris. She felt herself being picked up gently and being laid on a soft surface so she concluded that it couldn't have been Boris since he would have most probably beaten her till she woke up but she thought that even if he did, it wouldn't make a difference since she couldn't make herself get up despite her best efforts. But then thought that he would want her healthy so maybe it was Boris and he was just picking her up gently so maybe she could fight by his side and so she remained tense at the thought of that. She felt a cold wet piece of cloth being dabbed against her forehead and neck, so she thought that there was far _too_ much kindness for it to be Boris so she finally calmed down and gave in to the soothing touch. She knew that the wonderful feeling she got could only be given to her by one person and that was most definitely not Boris.

A pleasurable heat filled her insides and she felt her soul slowly starting to surface. Her eyes slowly opened though her vision was still very blurred but it cleared up after a while. The first thing she saw was Tala's worried gaze on her. She sat up gasping for some air, she started in a coughing fit but it quickly stopped after she was handed a glass of water that Bryan had given her.

Tala wrapped his arms around Serenity and held her in a tight embrace and Serenity automatically closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. She looked up at him and kissed him softly and quickly. "Are you feeling any better?" Tala asked quietly.

"Yeah…a little" Serenity replied, whispering softly before closing her eyes again.

"Well at least now I know not to believe you when you say nothing is wrong" Tala whispered, stroking her hair softly.

Serenity looked up at him with worry filling her blue eyes, "Don't get overprotective over me will you" Serenity said softly.

"That's a little hard" Tala replied, before kissing her again softly. They hadn't noticed Bryan still watching them and he quickly walked out of the room and into the hall when he saw the romantic scene unfold in front of him. Tala pulled a little out of the kiss when he heard the door close, he looked at the door and then back to Serenity, "Do you think we should be worried about him telling anyone?" Tala asked about Bryan.

Serenity shook her head slowly a little, "I don't think so" she whispered.

"I hope you're right" Tala whispered back. "For now could you get some sleep?" he asked softly.

"Are you kidding? I have been unconscious for so long I don't think I'll sleep all night" Serenity said, raising her voice to its normal level. She pulled out of Tala's embrace and stood up and walked to the door, "Boris said that dinner will be in our room tonight so I'm going to get Bryan" she said, leaving the room before giving Tala a chance to object.

She walked through the long hallways with her hand against the wall in case she lost her balance. She stepped into the training room where she saw Bryan training; he hadn't noticed her until she walked closer to him and stood near the side of the dish his blade was in. "You really didn't have to leave the room you know" Serenity told him.

"Aren't you afraid that I might give out your secret?" Bryan asked, not taking his eyes off his blade.

"No, I trust you and it seems Tala does too" Serenity replied.

"I think you trust too easily" Bryan said.

"I don't" Serenity said. "Shouldn't you be resting?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"I don't need to rest" Bryan replied.

Serenity sighed in frustration from Bryan's short and blunt answers and stepped closer to the dish. She stomped hard on Bryan's beyblade, making it stop spinning. Bryan watched in shock as Serenity picked up his blade from the dish, "Come on, dinner should be in our room soon and I don't want you training any more than you have to after what happened yesterday" she said, before walking to the door, still with Bryan's blade in her hand. Bryan chased after her out the door and tried to take the blade from her but instead she just ran down the hall faster.

Bryan rolled his eyes and followed her slowly down the hall and went into the room to find that Serenity was placing his blade on the dressing table before picking up her tray of food that had been delivered to them while they were downstairs. He picked up his tray and sat on his bed to eat, he ate quietly before dumping his tray back on the dressing table and getting into bed though not bothering to sleep but instead just stare at the ceiling. Serenity lay in bed looking up to see out the window, she felt a light uneasiness in her stomach but lay there till it stopped.

Tala walked in later and lay in bed next to Serenity and pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and felt very peaceful but still was uncertain about something though she wasn't sure what it was that was scaring her. She closed her eyes and slept quickly which was a bit of a surprise since she had slept most of the day away but in a way was expected because her illness drained her of most of her energy.

**---Next Morning---**

Serenity was the first to wake up the next morning, but didn't exactly start the day the way she would've liked it. She started the new day by throwing up her dinner in the toilet, she didn't know why it had happened but it just did. She then had a warm shower but lost her balance and slipped in a puddle of water and hit the floor with a sickening thud. She didn't know why she felt this way but it seemed like her emotions were messing with her since after she slipped she burst into tears and didn't stop for a while. She finally pulled all her emotions together and got out of the shower, drying herself off and changing quickly for training.

**---5:30pm---**

Since Serenity's emotions were all out of line, her battles were all messed up too and she even lost a couple of battles to kids who were younger and more inexperienced then her. Serenity's losses had attracted the attention of many other kids but most of all, the guards. A guard pulled Serenity to the side of the room and started scolding her and lecturing her on the importance of winning. The guard had said something to anger Serenity immensely push past her final limit. She pulled her pen-knife out and held the blade open in front of her defensively with a cold look on her features.

The guard smirked, "Who do you think you're fooling Serenity?" he asked, "You don't have the heart to hurt anyone, let alone kill" he said, spitefully. He gripped the knife in his hand, still smirking, "You can't spill blood" he continued, gripping the blade tighter in his hand but not trying to take it from her.

Serenity's eyes were blank yet stern as she quickly pulled the blade out of the guard's tight grip. The guard winced and opened his hand and looked at his palm, thick red blood was slowly seeping out of a deep cut that the blade had made. No blood seeped onto the clean skin but just remained on the open blooded cut.

Serenity's eyes drifted to the cut but her eyes didn't change and then she turned to look at the guard, "I can always spill blood, I just choose not to" she whispered coldly. Serenity turned to the door, her head lowered and her purple bangs shadowing her face, hiding the hot tears that streamed down her flushed cheeks. Her stomach was in knots and the pain was unbearable and the pain of spilling blood.

She quickly walked out of the training room and ran down the hall when tears streamed down her face faster and she felt like her stomach was doing back flips. She kept running as fast as she could but hadn't noticed the guard that was ahead of her. She ran past him but the guard roughly grabbed her wrist, stopping her. She quickly spun around to look at him, making herself very dizzy from the movement.

The guard saw the many emotions swirling in Serenity's misty blue eyes, "Please…let go" she whispered, pain evident in her voice. Unknowingly, the guard obeyed Serenity's pleading order and gently let go of her wrist and felt a new emotion for the first time in a long time, pity, something in Serenity made him pity her. The last thing Serenity wanted was pity from anyone, so she ran as fast as she could down the hall to get to her bedroom before she felt sick out in the corridor.

She opened her bedroom door quickly and slammed the door tightly behind her and ran into the bathroom. After locking the door she ran to the toilet and threw the lid open. She knelt down by it and threw up a thin liquid when she choked and felt like she was having a panic attack or something. She pushed herself off the ground and ran to the sink, switching the cold water on; she rinsed her mouth and face to cool herself off. She sat on the floor and rested her feverish forehead on the cold stone wall. More tears streaming down her face and she sobbed quietly for quite a while.

**---In the Bedroom---**

Tala and Bryan walked into the room to find Serenity but found that she wasn't in there. Then they saw the bathroom door closed which if they both remembered correctly was closed when they left. Tala knocked on the door as hard as he could, "Serenity…are you ok in there?" he asked through the door.

Neither tala nor Bryan heard a reply but instead heard faint sobs coming from Serenity. Tala tried to open the door but found that Serenity had locked it, "Serenity, open the door and come out" he said.

Bryan sighed and stepped closer to the door, "Damn it Serenity, get out her now" he ordered, banging on the door.

**---In the Bathroom---**

"Please…stop" Serenity whispered between breaths.

Luna watched her Mistress in despair but couldn't bring herself to step out of her blade, afraid of upsetting her more but still wanted to help her. She wanted to tell her about what she thought about her illness but had to find the right time but with Serenity there wasn't really a right time.

**---Back Outside---**

Tala decided to try his luck again, when he heard more crying and sobbing. He didn't knock this time but just called again. When that didn't work he started yelling, "Serenity come out now" he yelled in frustration.

A pale blue-white light shone from under the bathroom door and Luna materialized in front of Tala. "Stop yelling at her" Luna yelled, though not loud enough for Serenity to hear her.

Tala gritted his teeth and started to yell at the interfering bit-beast before him, "How can I stop yelling when she's locked herself up and is…"

"Pregnant" Luna yelled, cutting Tala off. When Tala intended to finish his statement he had never intended to finish it the way Luna just had.

"What?" Tala asked, in a whispered and hushed tone that Luna had barely heard.

"She just found out" Luna said, lowering her voice. "I told my Mistress about what I thought on her illness and she agrees and thinks she is pregnant too" she told him softly.

Tala didn't say anything but just leaned against the dressing table for support as thoughts of what is going to happen next. Bryan just stood there, a little shocked but as usual didn't show any sign of shock or that he was even listening but just stood watching as if it were an uninteresting movie. Both of them were thinking mainly about what Boris would do when he would finds out.

"She needs you right now, but not to yell but to help and comfort. Not even I can help Tala, only you" Luna said, pointing to herself and worry and pain filling her bright blue eyes, "Please help her" she pleaded.

Tala looked up to see the sorrow in for her Mistress and nodded slowly but then snapped back to reason, "She locked the door" he said.

"That can be fixed" Luna said. She pointed to the lock on the door and a quiet 'click' was heard, indicating that the door was now unlocked.

Luna stepped aside and Tala slowly opened the door. He walked inside and saw Serenity sitting against the wall, still crying quietly. He closed the door but still kept it open a jar and slowly walked over to her so as not to startle her and sat next to her. He gently pulled her fragile trembling body into his arms and wrapped them around her protectively and kissed her softly on her head, reassuring her that he was there to help her. He gently stroked her hair and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"I'm scared" Serenity whispered through sobs, resting her head against his chest.

Tala kissed her head again and continued stroking her hair softly as a sign that he understood her, "I know…but don't be" he whispered back.

"What am I going to do?" Serenity asked.

"You mean what are _we_ going to do?" Tala rephrased. "We'll work it out, don't worry too much for now, it will just make you sick" he told her softly. "Slow down, stop crying" he ordered, softly whispering in her ear.

"I can't" Serenity whispered back, more tears streaming down her face.

"But at least relax" Tala whispered, gently stroking her arm.

**---In the Bedroom---**

"Why don't you go in there?" Luna asked Bryan softly, as she watched Bryan sit on his bed.

"Why? What can I do?" Bryan asked, lying back in bed to rest.

"A lot, my Mistress really believes in you and it would mean a lot to her" Luna replied.

"Don't you ever feel that maybe she thinks a little too much about others?" Bryan asked.

"You mean…like sees too much good in them?" Luna asked, sitting elegantly on the floor in front of him.

"Yeah, like she sees a lot of good in them, even when they've hurt others and hurt even her" Bryan said.

"Not at all, she has a gift…the gift to see into others hearts" Luna replied to Bryan's first question. Bryan gave a start when he thought about it, "She's seen into your heart, there is a lot of good in it and she sees it and she knows it is there and that you can use it" Bryan looked away from her, avoiding Luna's blue eyes that tended to dig deep into someone's soul just like her Mistress'. "Just think about what I said" she told him before disappearing back into her blade.

**---Meanwhile in the Bathroom---**

Serenity moved closer to Tala and moved her head onto his shoulder and cried harder, her tears wetting Tala's jacket, feeling like acid on his cold skin. She sobbed there longer and he just held her closer to him till she stopped trembling. In time she cried herself to sleep and she slept there in Tala's arms, but Tala just leaned against the wall and kept Serenity resting in his arms. After a few minutes he stood up with Serenity still sleeping, he walked out of the bathroom and placed Serenity on her bed. He pushed back her hair which shadowed her face and pushed it back a little and kissed her on the forehead. He went into the bathroom and changed into his white top for dinner and quietly went back to the bedroom. He sighed and jumped over Serenity and sat on the window sill, he sat back and stared out the window.

It was about time to go down stairs for dinner and Tala was still staring out the window and Bryan had just come out of the bathroom after having a shower and changing. "Hey, we have to go" Bryan told Tala, interrupting his thoughts.

Tala turned his head to look at him and nodded. He climbed off the window sill and looked down at Serenity who was still sleeping peacefully on the bed. He stood next to her and picked up one of her hands and gently shook her awake. Serenity's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Tala blankly for a second before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissed him softly on the lips, "Thank you…for being here" she whispered softly, smiling lightly.

Tala didn't reply but just squeezed her hand tighter, "We better go" he whispered. Serenity nodded and slowly sat up in bed, she gripped Tala's hand tightly for support when she got off the bed but let go of him when she caught her balance and walked to the door by herself. She opened the door and walked down the hall slowly with Tala and Bryan following behind her. Tala came up behind her and kept close to her as she walked down the hall, "Are you sure you're feeling ok?" he asked her softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine now, thanks" Serenity replied, looking at him and smiling a little.

"Can I believe you when you say that?" Tala asked, staring at the ground as they walked along the halls.

Serenity frowned a little and she stared at the ground, "Don't you trust me anymore?" she asked, fear emitting through her soft voice.

"Of course I trust you, but you don't tell me when you're not feeling well and that just gets me worried." Tala replied, not taking his eyes off the ground in front of him.

"I'm sorry that I'm worrying you but…I thought I'll be fine on my own but that was long before _this_ happened" Serenity said, pain and fear evident in her eyes as before. Placing her hands on her stomach as fearful thoughts of the future entered her mind.

"Well, don't hide these things from me anymore, I only want to help you" Tala said, looking at her.

"Thanks Tala" Serenity whispered softly, looking up at him. All three bladers entered the dining room and all got there food, Bryan went off and sat at a small table by himself. When Serenity saw this she nudged Tala gently in the rib and they both took their food and walked over to him. "Mind if we sit here?" Serenity asked Bryan.

Bryan didn't reply but just moved seat a little for Serenity and Tala but silently just continued eating his food. Serenity didn't like the idea of him being on his own but sometimes she knew that he needed space but she hated keeping him out of things. They all walked up to their room together though Bryan had tried to go up by himself but Serenity had stopped him so they went up together. Bryan walked alone behind Serenity and Tala and just kept his thoughts to himself as they walked through the halls to their room. Serenity kissed Tala on the cheek before letting go of his hand and waiting behind for Bryan. Tala went into the bedroom but Serenity pulled Bryan around another corner and grabbed his hand gently, "I want us to talk a little" she said softly.

"About?" Bryan asked, staring at the ground, not looking at her because Serenity's eyes reminded him of those same eyes that Luna had, the eyes that made him want to care and show a little more emotion. He was somehow afraid of them, afraid to lose control on his own emotions and let an emotion slip out of his grasp and worst of all show Serenity that he can feel emotion and prove her right.

"About what it is that is holding you back. Why are you afraid to show emotion? You know that you don't have to show it to many others but you can show it to me because you need to know you can trust me with anything" Serenity said softly, when they stopped at a window and stared outside.

_I don't know who to trust no surprise  
(Everyone feels so far away from me)  
Heavy thoughts sift through dust and the lies  
(Trying not to break but I'm so tired of this deceit)  
(Every time I try to make myself get back up on my feet)  
(All I ever think about is this)  
(All the tiring time between)  
(And how trying to put my trust in you just takes so much out of me)_

"I don't know who to trust" Bryan said simply, staring out the window still avoiding Serenity caring blue eyes.

"No surprise" Serenity said.

"Everyone feels so far away from me" Bryan whispered, "I would have done anything to stop feeling, to stop feeling the pain from the beatings, the emotional pain I felt, the abuse. I took any sign of emotion out of me and threw it away, as if it never existed but…" he paused however he noticed how far he had gotten and decided to continue, "Sometimes I just wish I could feel without fear of the consequences" he finished, lowering his head so Serenity didn't see anything in his eyes or have the chance to see into his soul.

"That's why it is good to find someone you can trust, so that when you are at your weakest point they can help you and be there for you…to be there when you burst into tears or even if the emotion is anger, they can still keep you from doing something stupid" Serenity explained, looking at him with worry in her eyes, "Tala was there for me this afternoon in the time I needed him the most, if you wanted me to keep a secret or help you anything you know that you just have to ask me and I'll do it unconditionally" she said.

"You really mean that?" Bryan asked, finally turning to look at Serenity and moved his eyes to look into her own, seeing the kindness they held for him.

"Of coarse I mean it, there is so much good in you that it's a shame that you don't use it, I know it is hard to use kindness and emotion here but you can still use it" Serenity told him, grabbing his hand a squeezing it tightly and reassuringly.

"Maybe you're right…" Bryan whispered, "I can do this anymore" he continued quietly, lowering his head to make sure she didn't see him.

"Continue what?" Serenity asked, lifting his head a little to see him.

"Trying not to fall out of line and trying to get back up after every blow that I've ever taken in. It started pulling me apart but I just ignored it I guess it did more to me then I thought" Bryan said, moving his head so he didn't look at her, but instead looked out the window.

"Holding it inside could do more damage to you then you think, you'll think that it is nothing harmful but in time it could hurt you more then it would have when it first started out" Serenity explained, gently stroking his hand as I sign of friendship. "I can help you with everything and anything but you need to tell me when something is wrong or else I can't help you as much as I'd like to. Just tell me when you need help and I'll be there" she continued telling him.

"Thanks" Bryan whispered, looking at her and smiling at her for the first time in a long time.

"Good" Serenity said, smiling sweetly. "Lets get back to our room, Tala might throw a tantrum if were not back there soon" she said smiling and starting their way down the hall.

"Is that also an emotion you support?" Bryan asked smiling, walking next to her down the hall.

"Of course, I love him and I love his personality and his tantrum throwing is a part of his personality" Serenity said smiling.

"You really accept people for who they are, don't you?" Bryan asked.

"Yeah, if you don't accept them for who they are then you can't really be there friend" Serenity said.

They walked a little longer until Serenity stopped to lean against the wall, feeling a little light headed, "Are you ok?" Bryan asked, walking closer to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Serenity replied, pushing herself off the wall.

"Are you sure?" Bryan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm sure" Serenity said, taking his hand and continuing down the hall. Serenity felt light headed and her breathing stopped and she had a quick vision run through her mind.

**---Vision---**

Serenity and Bryan are walking down a long hall when launchers shoot out of the stone walls and ceilings. Ten beyblades were launched at them in a sequence and only realized what was happening when they spun around to the sound of clashing metal. The bladers didn't have time to react and got hit and cut by the blades that bashed and beat them. The two bladers fell to the ground unconscious, with bloody gashes covering them.

**---End Vision---**

Serenity gasped for air and fell on her knees and Bryan knelt down next to her to make sure she was ok. Serenity winced slightly as if she felt the gashes from the vision, "Don't move" she whispered to him. Like the vision foretold the launchers came out of the wall and aimed straight at them, when the first blade was launched Serenity pulled out her launcher and launched Luna into all the oncoming attackers. Luna beat most of the blades in that corridor and Serenity and Bryan quickly walked down the hall to get to their room as soon as possible while Luna kept spinning as she stayed behind them to look out for anymore blades that intend on hurting Serenity and Bryan again.

Luna had accidentally let her guard down and a blade came whirling through the air aimed at Serenity's back, the only one to notice was Bryan who had been thinking about what had happened and heard the blade slicing through the thick cold air. He turned around in time to see the black blade and pulled Serenity to the ground while Luna dealt with the blade that had flown just past where they had stood. Luna destroyed the blade quickly as possible and mercilessly for even trying to harm her Mistress. Once the blade was shattered Luna slowed down and stopped, Bryan picked up Serenity's blade and took Serenity's hand and pushed himself off the floor, helping Serenity up. "You ok?" he asked, handing her Luna.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Serenity said but cut herself off when she looked up at him, "But you're not" she said, seeing a bloody gash through his shirt on his forearm. "Thanks, you saved me" she whispered.

"No problem, it's what friends do right?" Bryan said smiling a little.

"Right" Serenity said, smiling back. "Let's get back to our room" she said.

They both walked to room which was now just round the corner. They went into their room and Tala was already in bed but shot up when he heard the door open and close. "Where were you?" he asked.

"We just had a little chat" Serenity said walking to the bathroom. She came back with a role of bandages and Bryan sat on the bed and Serenity gently tended to the cut and wrapped it up tightly.

Serenity put the things away and changed into her night dress, she went back to her room and slowly sat on her high bed. She lie on her bed and lay on her side and closed her eyes to sleep, "Good night" she said, pulling the covers tighter around herself.

"Good night" Tala whispered in her ear before kissing her on the cheek softly and lying down close to her.

"Good night and…thanks Serenity" Bryan said softly before sleeping soundly.

Serenity smiled softly, _'Mission accomplished'_ Serenity and Luna thought in unison.

**A/N: **That's the end of the chapter. What did you think of it? I hope you all liked it, it took me ages to right. Please tell me what you thought of the chapter and please review in length, I really want to know what you thought of it. I tried to balance the chapter out so that it wasn't all centered around one person so I tried to balance it out so that I won't leave anyone out. I want to point out that through out the chapters I have left small paragraphs in italics which are lyrics to different songs that had inspired a certain part of the chapter so I thought I should include them. In this chapter it was the song 'From The Inside' by Linkin Park. And I need to ask a question and everyone should answer, do you want Bryan to be paired up later in this fic? I don't mean that it will be yaoi or anything but if you want him to be paired up I already have a plan but I just need to know if you want him to be paired or not. Please tell me if you have any ideas and I'll try my best to apply them in later chapters. Please review and please review in length, please I love reviews. Till next chapter, bye!


	8. Pain and Death

**Chapter 8**

It was an empty space; the place was pitch black, fog and cold air filled the place for miles and miles on. The only person there was one man, a guard. He stood there, slowly walking around though it seemed to go on forever. A young girl appeared before him, it was Serenity but some of her features had somehow been changed. She now had long white-silvery hair that gently swayed behind her and her eyes were a much darker shade of blue. She wore a long white flowing dress and also wore a necklace around her neck; it was a small marble of crystal on the end of a silver chain and had a gold crescent moon in the middle of her forehead.

The guard looked on at the beautiful teenager in front of him and tried to find his voice to speak to the shy creature, "Why are you here?" he asked.

Serenity smiled softly and took a step forward but stopped when the guard took a step back, "I don't want to hurt you…I just came to thank you…for helping me today" she said in a soft and rather elegant and sophisticated voice. The guard didn't reply but his look hardened at the thought of what he had done, "But…why had you done it?" she asked.

The guard looked on at her coldly, "I don't even know why I did but I do know that it was a mistake" he said in an icy tone.

Serenity looked on in confusion, "Why do you think that?" she asked.

"Because leaving a girl to run off and cry is something I was trained not to tolerate" The guard continued coldly though not daring to move closer to Serenity even though he knew it was her, he still didn't know what to expect of the place he was in or to expect from her in her current form. Or was it some other reason that he didn't fight back at her?

"Don't you ever wish you weren't trained that way?" Serenity asked.

"What difference would it make to me?" The guard asked

"I'm not really sure" Serenity said, her voice dieing down.

"So why care when it makes no difference?" The guard asked, crossing his arms.

"It still makes a difference to the kids; they feel better about themselves and feel that other people care. Maybe if they were treated better then they would act better to their elders and to each other" Serenity fought back but still keeping that sense of elegance in her voice.

"They don't know any better, they're stupid when they're young and could be easily trained from a young age without questioning" The guard continued.

"I don't believe that, kids are not stupid and can question an adult's order and once they grow up they will understand more and _will _object to an order given to them by their elders" Serenity disagreed.

"What do you know?" The guard almost yelled coldly.

"I know a lot more then you could ever know from beating children" Serenity replied, with a hint of ice in her voice which almost resembled that of a queen or princess or one of some sort of royalty.

The guard cringed and clutched his side; he had stopped listening to Serenity when he felt pain in him. He kept his hand on his side and Serenity stepped forward worriedly and held a hand out as if going to touch him but pulled back. The guard slowly pulled his hand away from his side and looked at it to see it smeared with blood. The guard disappeared and a yell of "traitor" was heard from someone before a low yell came from the guard.

Serenity gasped and quickly sat up in her own bed. The crescent moon on her forehead slowly fading away, a tear slipped from her eye but she wiped it away quickly. "Are you ok?" a gentle voice asked from next to her.

Serenity looked at Tala who sat up next to her, "Yeah, I'm fine" she whispered but Tala just gave her a warning look that said 'you better not be lying'. "Seriously, I'm fine" she said again, "I just need to go check on someone" she said, slowly getting out of bed and walking to the door.

'_You need to move faster Mistress'_ Luna said.

'_I'm sorry Luna but I can't, the mind linking took a lot out of me'_ Serenity said, walking as fast as she could down the hall.

'_I know but if you hadn't done it maybe you wouldn't understand what is to happen next' _Luna said.

'_They think he is a traitor, what do you think they'll do to him?' _Serenity asked worriedly as she climbed the stairs to the higher level of the abbey where the guards' quarters were.

'_I'm afraid to even imagine, I'm sorry Mistress but they might…'_ Luna started but got cut off.

'_Don't think that way Luna'_ Serenity ordered her bit-beast in that same refined voice.

'_Forgive me Mistress' _Luna apologized, _'I was just voicing my opinion'_ she finished.

'_Don't worry about it Luna, I've just been a little worked up that's all'_ Serenity said, walking along a long hall way. She sighed in frustration when she got to the end of the hall, _'Why is this place so big, it takes me forever to get through' _she complained in frustration.

She walked round a corner but quickly ran back to hide from four other guards and Boris who walked out of the room she was intending to go to. She hid there but a pang of fear hit her when Boris walked her way to walk round the corner. She looked around in fear but couldn't find any place to hide but then saw a wooden beam close to the ceiling. With all her strength she jumped up and Luna's abilities helped her grab onto the beam, she pulled herself up, straining her muscles and body and sat on the beam. Boris walked through the hall and thankfully hadn't seen Serenity, she tried her hardest to stay hidden but it was difficult since the beam was narrow and had occasionally made sounds when she shifted position to hide better into the shadows. He turned his head to look behind him when he heard a creaking sound; Serenity winced as she clenched her teeth at the thought of getting caught.

Boris turned back and walked down the hall and hadn't noticed her, when she saw that the halls where clear of guards and Boris she swiftly jumped to the ground beneath her. She ran quietly to the door and stepped into the door way when fear struck her at the sight before her, the guard that had helped her by letting go in the hall was now lying on the ground in the middle of the room. He was covered in crimson blood that stained the already dark carpet beneath him and had thousands of whiplashes covering him. Serenity ran over to him and gripped his trembling hand; the guard turned his head to look at her which was a big mistake since the movement made his head hurt even more. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a soft raspy voice, roughly pulling his hand away from her which was another one of his many mistakes.

"I got scared when you woke up so abruptly" Serenity replied, ignoring that he had pulled away from her. She scanned him and saw a deep wound on his stomach, a wound that was deep enough to have been created by a knife. Multiple stab wounds covered his chest, arms and stomach and obviously created a lot of blood loss and his breathing was shallow.

She got up and ran to the adjoining bathroom and picked up a white towel and soaked it in cold water, she ran back to the guard and placed the cold cloth on the stab wound. She noticed how pale he was and that he was cold and trembling a lot but wasn't sure about what to do. She went over to his bed a took a pillow and then gently placed it under his head but then felt as faint as the guard when she saw the white fabric absorb blood. The guard winces and sighs, "Just leave…don't get caught" he whispered through short breaths.

"I can't leave you to die" Serenity said, tears welling up in her light blue eyes.

"Believe it or not I'm going to die…so save yourself and leave me" The guard said in a pleading voice.

"I can't leave you to die" Serenity repeated, tears starting to stream down her face.

"But you can't do anything to stop it" The guard whispered. "But maybe I could do something for you" he continued, taking slow ragged breaths.

Serenity looked at him, still with sadness in her eyes but had a confused look, "What do you mean?" she asked, wiping away the tears that still slipped.

"I heard you want to escape" The guard continued, Serenity gasped and shock filled her eyes, "Don't worry…none of the guards know…go to my desk, top draw at the back…there is a small book, it's filled with information on different hidden escape…routes that guards would use in case of emergency…take it" he told her. He saw her still looking at him with more hot tears streaming down her face, "Take it" he told her again.

Serenity did as he asked and got up and opened the draw and took out a small book covered in black leather, she quickly looked through it before sitting next to him and placing the book beside her. She took his still trembling hand and squeezed it tightly and she started to cry more and more by the second. "You can't die, you just can't" Serenity whispered.

"Don't you believe that maybe we all have a purpose?" He asked.

"Of course I do" Serenity whispered rather angrily.

"Then why do you find it so hard to believe that this might be my destiny?" The guard whispered, closing his tired eyes. "I'm almost gone but ask me if there is something you need to know before I leave" he continued.

"But I don't want you to leave" Serenity whispered, her hot tears falling on the guards cold and trembling hand that was still clasped in hers.

"Stop crying and just ask" The guard ordered.

Serenity held back a sob and tried to find her voice through all the confusion and guilt, "I need to know…what made you let go?" she asked.

"That's hard but I just knew that I couldn't stop you. Your eyes told me who you were" The guard replied, ending in a coughing fit of blood.

Serenity wiped some blood off the corners of his mouth and cried harder, "But how?" she whispered.

"The same way that you knew that you could trust me and enter my mind; clairvoyance. You're succeeding in doing what your mother sent you to do and I didn't want that to stop…I couldn't" he replied, opening his dark brown eyes to look up into Serenity's bright blue blurred ones. "You don't know this…but she sent you here to fall in love, make friends and to help others…but things get in the way of our goals in life but you can still do it…no matter what gets in your way, you were born that way" he continued, pulling together some strength and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Save yourself and save the others" he whispered finally, his raspy voice dieing down.

Serenity felt his hands loosen and he stopped trembling. His eyes held a blank stare and were still looking at here; they scared her at the sudden thought that he was dead. She cried more and placed her hand that was now covered in drying blood over his eyes and closed them. "I'll do it…I promise" she whispered, her hot tears falling on his cold skin. She picked up the little book that he had given her and took another look at the dead body, knowing that it would be gone early that morning. She took the wet cloth of blood and removed the pillow and tossed them both into an empty old trunk so Boris wouldn't find out that she was in there.

Serenity walked slowly down the hall, wiping away the tears from her cheeks. She then looked through the small book, _'I think I know how to get out of here' _she thought to herself. She walked as fast as she could down the hall s and quietly went into her room. She quietly walked into her room and the lights quickly flicked on, "Where were you?" Bryan asked angrily, getting off his bed and walking up to her.

"Cool it Bryan" Tala said, glaring at the younger blader as he walked up beside him to look and Serenity. He saw the blood on Serenity's hands and the leather book, "Where were you?" he asked, taking in the sight of blood.

Serenity walked to the dressing table and put the book in the draw for safe keeping and then went to sit on her bed and stared at the ground out of shame and guilt for letting such a pure-hearted person die in front of her, "The guard that helped me today was considered a traitor and got killed" she replied.

"What?" Tala asked, "Why was he a traitor?" he asked, walking closer to her and sitting down next to her.

"Because they somehow found out about him stopping me but there is more to it…" Serenity said, stopping for a second to think, "He said that he saw my identity through my eyes, after showing him that, the effects of Boris' brainwashing faded and he didn't follow Boris' orders and didn't hurt the kids so he was then considered a traitor and since he couldn't be brainwashed again he had to be killed" she said, her voice dieing down and a tear slipping from her eye. "This is my entire fault" she whispered under her breath.

"It isn't your fault, you're just finding some excuse to blame yourself. Go clean yourself up and don't let this get in the way of things, understood?" Tala ordered.

Serenity nodded and then got off the bed and went to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and went to rinse her hands, she rubbed off all the dry blood and then dried them in a towel and then walked out again. Bryan was already in bed and tucked under the covers and Tala was waiting for her, she walked up to her bed and got under the cold covers and shuddered when the cold material touched the bare parts of her skin. Tala moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, letting her rest her back against his chest and he whispered softly in her ear, "Stop worrying and get some sleep."

"How can I when I still feel it's my fault?" Serenity whispered back.

"Why should you feel that way?" Tala asked, resting his head on her bare shoulder.

"Because I stopped him from doing his job in a way that cost him his life" Serenity said.

"Would you stop with the self-loath already, it isn't your fault now get to sleep before I knock you unconscious" Bryan called from his bed, still with his eyes closed as he shifted in bed.

"Someone's grumpy" Tala muttered.

"You would be too if you hadn't slept all night" Bryan muttered back angrily.

They all quietened down and they soon slept. Bryan was the first to sleep since he still felt drained of energy from the past few days and somehow his talk about his emotions with Serenity took a lot out of him. He had never spoken to anyone about his emotions so much and he felt that Serenity had actually understood how he felt about things and that maybe he could trust her, but he didn't want to trust her too much and still had a part of him that didn't trust her and a part of his heart was still nagging at him to keep away from her.

Serenity was the next to sleep since she was up late and wasn't feeling very well so she didn't take very long to sleep, feeling warm and safe at the time even if she still felt the guilt of that innocent dieing in front of her. She really wished that she could have saved him but knew that no matter what she did or even tried to do that he would die anyway. She could have wished on thousands of stars and still he would have died, it felt like someone had beaten her and she felt everything.

Tala had kept an eye on her and had avoided sleep just to make sure that she didn't leave the room or that she didn't suddenly feel sick or uneasy but then let sleep overcome him when Serenity drifted to sleep in his arms. He thought that she must have felt even the slightest safer, he knew that she would always protect him and knew that he would always protect her. She had always comforted him in his worst times and now he felt that it was his turn to help her, that maybe now she was the one that needed to be comforted. Now was a time when he felt he could repay her somehow, he did love her and wanted to help her as much as he could, just like she had helped him so many times before.

**---Next Morning---**

Serenity slowly opened her eyes, she saw the time in front of her; 5:30am. Without moving she could see that both Tala and Bryan were still sleeping. She turned over to look at Tala and kissed his softly on the lips and then pushed back a loose strand of red hair from shadowing his face. She removed his arm from around her waist and turned her back toward him and pushed herself gently out of bed and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She undressed and stepped into the shower. She stood under the running warm water and tried to keep her mind off what had happened. She felt uneasiness rising in her stomach and she rested her back against the wall for support. _'I really hope that I'm not pregnant…I really don't know how I would deal' _Serenity thought, the pain from her stomach emitting through her mind's voice.

_'You're never going to find out for sure from in here but still either way you still need to calm yourself, your stress level has been rising and I'm afraid it might affect your health'_ Luna said, voicing her concerns.

_'I'm scared Luna, I don't know what to do.' _Serenity replied.

_'Stop worrying is a start'_ Luna said.

_'But sometimes I just can't help it, like I automatically worry because I won't know what else to do' _Serenity said.

_'Well you have to learn to stop; it will only make you feel worse. Nothing will come out of worrying, you don't know for certain that you're in fat pregnant but there is still a very good chance that you are. But you will never know for certain from in here' _Luna finished, a sense of wisdom filling her young voice.

_'How will we ever get out of here?'_ Serenity asked, resting her head back against the wall.

_'Have you lost faith in all of your plans?' _Luna asked.

_'Of course I haven't but I don't know if they would work' _Serenity said, her eyes saddening.

_'I am more then certain that they will work, I was sure about them in the past and I am even more sure about them now' _Luna said, trying her best to reassure her Mistress as much as she could.

_'Maybe we could try to escape soon, it would probably be a good idea' _Serenity thought, more to herself then a statement to Luna. _'The plans should work, they're flawless, and with the added information from the guard we know how to get out without being seen' _she thought and continued on about how her plans had to work.

_'Now that is the Serenity I know and love'_ Luna said, smiling gently.

Serenity pushed herself off the wall and continued her shower under the warm water and then got out of the shower. She dried herself off and then changed into her usual clothing, fixing her hair she checked the mirror and walked out of the bathroom. She went back into the bedroom to find that both of her to room mates were still sleeping soundly, she smiled softly but noticed that it was getting late so one of them had to wake up to go get changed first. She thought about waking Bryan up first since he probably got more sleep then Tala did seeing as Tala stayed up later to keep an eye on her and to keep her safe. She knelt down by Bryan on the floor by the bed and took in the sight of his body, the whiplashes were slowly healing but were still visible and had often caused him a lot of pain during training but the bruises were disappearing and blending with his skin color more. She gently took a grip on one of his shoulders and shook him slowly until he started to stir.

Bryan sat up a little and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked at Serenity who smiled at him sweetly, "Time to wake up sleepy-head" she told him playfully, getting up and going to sit on her bed. Watching Bryan get up and go to the bathroom, she lay on her bed quietly only to have an arm gently wrap around her waist and kiss her on the cheek. She turned her head to look up a little at the red-head; she smiled sweetly and kissed him softly on the lips. "Good morning" she whispered.

"Morning" Tala whispered back, lying back down next to her.

Serenity rested her back against his chest and moved close to him, enjoying the warmth he past to her along with the sense of safety she got from him. "I was thinking…that maybe it's time we tried to leave" she whispered.

"Can we do that?" Tala asked.

"Of course we can, I have plans that have been created from years of knowledge" Serenity replied.

"But are they assured to work?" Tala asked.

"99.9 they will work" Serenity said, smiling a little. "And you're leaving with us!" she said, turning to look at the bathroom door where Bryan stood as she sat up.

"It's not that simple" Bryan whispered.

"What isn't so simple?" Tala asked, sitting up next to Serenity.

"Yeah, we have a plan to get out of here that is actually quite simple" Serenity said, staring at him in confusion.

"You don't understand…" Bryan almost yelled, "You both have somewhere to go but this is the only place I know and have ever known, I don't have any place to go after here" he explained.

Serenity smiled and looked at Tala who smiled back and they both laughed a little, she got off the bed and walked up to a confused Bryan and smiled, "That is why you are coming with us and staying at my place" she said.

"What? Are you sure?" Bryan asked, thousands of questions swirling through his mind but those were the only ones that could pass his lips at the time.

"Of course I'm sure, I would never want to leave you anywhere else" Serenity replied, laughing a little at the confused look on Bryan's features. "I obviously can't keep everyone at my place but my friend who lives outside these walls can find them all a place to stay, it will definitely be better then here" she told him, still smiling.

Tala had walked up to Bryan and stood by Serenity, "Till then we have to keep escaping our secret and we have to try to keep ourselves out of trouble" Tala said, glaring at Serenity in the last half as Serenity pouted.

"I'll try" Serenity muttered, crossing her arms.

"Good" Tala said, before kissing her quickly and walking into the bathroom to change. Serenity walked back to her bed and sat on it, leaning her back against the wall.

**---Later That Day---**

Training went on as usual and Serenity tried her best not to let her emotions from the night before from messing up her battles. Things were fine and straight after training all the trainees went to dinner. Bryan had stayed with them that day, he hadn't wanted to but Serenity wouldn't leave him alone, but he still remained very quiet and just ate in silence. In the silence Serenity noticed that about four seats were empty and noticed that they had been empty for quite a few days. "Why are so many kids missing?" Serenity whispered, looking up from her plate and looking at the empty spaces.

"Maybe they're still at training" Tala whispered, so the other kids didn't hear him.

"I don't think so, they've been missing for days and I haven't seen them during training either" Serenity said with a shake of her head.

"Maybe they have private training" Tala said before continuing his dinner.

"I don't think so" Serenity whispered.

"Something is wrong" Bryan muttered, not realizing that Serenity had heard him.

"I think Boris is on a killing spree" Serenity whispered.

"Gives us all a more reason to leave" Bryan said, still in a hushed tone.

"I agree" Serenity told him.

**---Next Morning---**

Serenity turned slowly on her side and pulled the covers tighter around her when she felt colder. She heard someone walk across the room and opened her tired eyes to see who it was, Bryan had been the first to wake up that morning and had already washed and changed for training. She looked up at the clock and saw that it was still four in the morning, "What are you doing up so early?" she asked him before yawning a little.

"Couldn't sleep" Bryan replied rather coldly, sitting on his bed.

"Again?" Serenity asked, raising an eyebrow as she sat up in bed, tightening the blankets around her.

"Yeah again" Bryan said, still with ice in his voice.

Serenity sighed in frustration, clearly seeing that Bryan didn't want to talk to her. She got out of bed and went to the bathroom for a shower. She came out a few minutes later but hadn't put on her denim jacket and just left it on her bed to put on later.

Tala had gone in after her and she waited, sitting on her bed with her eyes closed to rest for a while. She felt a light kiss on her shoulder and smiled a little; she opened her deep blue eyes and looked at Tala. Smiling sweetly she kissed him softly on the lips, not seeing Bryan roll his eyes until he spoke with frustration filling his voice, "Would you stop with the kissing already and let's go" he said through gritted teeth.

_'He makes me wonder'_ Serenity thought.

_'Wonder what?'_ Luna asked.

_'Wonder if he is grumpy everyday or if that is just when he doesn't get enough sleep' _Serenity thought, getting off the bed and walking to the door.

_'Mistress, that really wasn't like you' _Luna said, laughing.

_'I know but it actually felt good to even think that' _Serenity said, laughing too.

_Nothing ever stops all these thoughts and the pain attached to them  
Sometimes I wonder why this is happening  
It's like nothing I can do would distract me when  
I think of how I shot myself in the back again  
Cause from the infinite words I can say I  
Put all pain you gave to me on display  
But didn't realize instead of setting it free I  
Took what I hated and made it a part of me _

_It never goes away. _

The three bladers walked down the hall and went downstairs for their training. Throughout training the bladers were made to practice on there own so they spent some of the time watching each other. This gave Bryan a good chance to think, somehow his mind had drifted to Boris and how much Boris had hurt him over the years. How much pain Bryan had endured because of him, not just physical pain but also emotional pain. The pain made him lose himself, lose his own personality, he felt that he had lost so much just for one man's greed. He keeps wondering why all the bad stuff seems to go down on him; he felt that everyone was out to get him. He knew that people had seen his pain, so why hadn't anyone tried to help him? He knew that no matter who helped him now…now it was too late, he felt it was too late.

No matter how far Bryan ran, even if it were Japan, he knew that a part of Boris was always with him. Spending his life with Boris as his coach was enough for him to get an influence off of him. Now Boris was a part of him, Boris was a part of every one at the abbey. The only ones who hadn't had a part of Boris in them were the ones that had a part of Serenity in them; Serenity had tried to help as many kids as much as she could and some had actually listened to her and so didn't believe in Boris but still kept themselves alive. He could run as fast as he could and escape to the farthest country but the name of his greatest fear would still bring back horrible memories.

_And now  
You've become a part of me  
You'll always be right here  
You've become a part of me  
You'll always be my fear  
I can't separate  
Myself from what I've done  
Giving up a part of me  
I've let myself become you_

Hearing your name the memories come back again  
I remember when it started happening  
I see you and every thought I had and then  
The thoughts slowly found words attached to them  
And I knew as they escaped away  
I was committing myself to them everyday  
I regret saying those things cause now I see that I  
Took what I hated and made it a part of me 

Bryan snapped out of the rush of thoughts and pain when a hand touched his shoulder and he looked up at the girl in front of him and with concern in her eyes she asked the oh so smart question, "Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah I'm fine" Bryan relied, brushing her hand off his shoulder.

"Well if everything were fine then you would have noticed that it was time to go back upstairs" Tala said, walking up next to Serenity who placed her hands on her hips and continued to look at him with a hint of frustration replacing the worry in her eyes.

"Whatever, let's just go" Bryan said, pushing himself off the bench and walked out of the empty training room and into the hall that led to the staircase that took them to the level of the bedrooms and quickly walked up the stairs, leaving Serenity and Tala behind. He walked into the bedroom and seeing as both Serenity and Tala were still behind he decided that he would go change first so he went into the bathroom and closed the door tightly behind him.

Serenity lay on her bed, closing her eyes to rest a little before dinner. She lay there very still, still feeling the aching affects of training that was slowly draining her of her energy day-by-day. She felt soft lips touch hers and then she slowly opened her eyes and Tala pulled away from her. He lay next to her on his back and took her hand, "How are you holding up?" he asked, turning his head and looking at her.

"Honestly?" Serenity asked, "I don't even know…I am not even positive about this pregnancy stuff and I'm never going to find out for sure from in here. I don't know how to keep up with all the changes and I don't know what is going to happen next and…"

"Whatever it is we will get through it" Tala told her, squeezing her hand.

"I hope you're right" Serenity whispered, moving closer to him and kissing him deeply.

_'I am so lucky that I haven't eaten yet or else I think I'll lose my dinner' _ Bryan thought, lying down on his bed after seeing the romantic scene between his two roommates. "Could one of you just change already so we can leave" he complained.

"Stop complaining would you?" Tala said angrily, getting off the bed he walked to the bathroom before glaring at him before he left.

Serenity sat up a little and looked over to Bryan, he was just lying on his bed with his eyes closed. She shook her head a little and then lay back down on her bed and rested a little. She knew that something was wrong with Bryan at the time and was thinking about what could've changed since she spoke to him, he had seemed to trust her a lot more but now she knew that something was wrong with him and he wouldn't even tell her. She got a little worried about him when he acted that way; she just got scared that maybe if he held in his pain for too long then maybe it may just hurt him more later.

Tala came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and Serenity went in to change quickly for dinner. After dinner they all went back to their rooms quickly, Bryan and Tala lay in their beds as soon as they got there but Serenity sat on the window sill and watched the freak storm outside. Serenity then lay in her bed near an already sleeping Tala and lay on her side from which she could see Bryan. Watching him sigh in frustration and close his eyes only improved Serenity's suspicions of something troubling him. _'Something is definitely wrong with him at the moment'_ Serenity thought worriedly.

_'He obviously isn't going to tell you if something is wrong at this point so what do you plan to do?'_ Luna asked, musing on Serenity's thoughts.

Serenity sighed, _'I would never do this to anyone but I think that this time it is important…do you think you could enter his heart and mind and find out what it is that is wrong?' _she asked.

_'I can but should I?- I don't mean to go against your orders but do you think it is wise to do so…they are after all his thoughts' _Luna said.

_'I know what you mean Luna but this could lead to something worse and I've already lost one innocent this week and I don't want to have to lose another' _ Serenity replied.

_'Even at the loss of a friend's trust?' _Luna asked.

_'You know that I am not doing this to hurt him but only to help him' _Serenity said, a slight measure of aggravation in her mind's voice.

_'I understand Mistress…shall I proceed?'_ Luna asked.

_'Yes please…just be careful' _Serenity warned gently.

Luna mentally nodded and concentrated on entering Bryan's mind. Serenity had just kept an eye on Bryan who still lay on his back in bed, he seemed rather peaceful and Serenity seemed to calm down though when he turned onto his side quickly was when she got worried the most. She found that she couldn't move and she didn't want to move since she didn't want to startle Bryan, she noted that hot tears had started to stream down his pale skin and by the look on his features he was pain. _'Luna…you're hurting him' _Serenity almost yelled in her mind, _'Stop it now Luna' _she called. Luna pulled back into her Mistress' mind and ended the empathy between herself and Bryan. Serenity looked at Bryan to see him relax and slip into unconsciousness, _'After all the pain he just felt please tell me that you found something'_ Serenity pleaded.

_'I'm afraid I've found very little, you see he has placed his fears and pain deep in side of him and has hidden it from many…including myself. For me to find more I would have had to look a lot deeper into him and it would have hurt him much more' _Luna replied, pain and worry filling her voice.

_'What did you find?' _Serenity asked.

_'He is just scared, I was unable to find out of what as he has practically shoved everything away from him, including his personality and his fears and pain' _Luna said.

_'Whatever it was that happened to him must have been horrible'_ Serenity thought, her worry for the younger blader increasing.

_'I agree, I felt a great amount of fear in him but the awareness of it was faint' _Luna informed.

_'He keeps everything bottled up inside of him and it hurts to keep it inside. He has to tell someone how he feels but he has to do it on his own terms' _ Serenity said, still looking at Bryan's unconscious form opposite her. _'Do you think he knows that it was you who entered his mind?' _she asked.

_'Highly unlikely Mistress, he was already exhausted and so he didn't even realize what was happening at the time' _Luna replied.

_'I hope he's ok' _Serenity thought worriedly.

_'I'm sure he'll be fine but for now it is best that you don't question him about the subject, it may make him lose his trust in you and right now it is the only thing he has' _Luna advised in her usual tone of wisdom.

_'I understand but I can't help but feel worried for his own safety' _Serenity said, getting under the covers and tightening them around her.

_'I know what you mean Mistress but just be careful of what you say to him' _Luna said.

_'Don't worry Luna, good night' _Serenity said.

_'Good night Mistress' _Luna said sweetly before returning to her blade. Serenity moved closer to Tala, pulling the covers tighter around her since she was still feeling really cold but in a few minutes she drifted off to sleep.

**A/N: **Ok that is the chapter, I hope you liked it. Please review and when you review try to review in length. I have a couple of things to point out; first of all the song used in this chapter was 'figure.09' by Linkin Park. Second of all, this chapter didn't come out very easily so in the mean time I wrote a one shot called 'Tainted Dreams' in case you want to read and review it. Another note is that I fixed my profile and I put up a section on future fics and a little about each one cause I need you to decide which you want next after this one and I also decided that if and only if I get 100 reviews I will do a sequel to this. Ok I have to go for now but till then please read and review.


	9. Escaping

**A/N: **Hey everyone, thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews for the last chapter. Thank you to those who went to my profile and private messaged me their opinions on the future fics and 'Angel Of Neglect' is currently in first place. I got a lot of random questions that I thought could and should be answered here. Ok so here are the questions and answers:

**Silvan Arrows Question: **When are you gonna reveal Serenity's plan to escape?

**Answer: **You find out Serenity's plan to escape when she actually tries to escape and not a minute before. They would probably escape somewhere at the end of this chapter or in the next.

**Amy's Question: **But exactly what do you feel when Luna goes inside of you physical pain or emotional pain?

**Answer: **This is actually a good question. It usually depends on what you are hiding and what is trying to be found. You can sometimes feel both or you could just feel one of them. In Bryan's case he was trying to hide both types of pain so he felt both types of pain. The physical pain would be all the abuse he felt and hid over his years at the abbey and the emotional pain would be not being loved and cared for and the way he was treated over the years. I hope this helped, ask again if you need more explanation.

Ok here is the chapter and I hope you enjoy it.

**P.S **In this chapter I skip the crap, like if you just noticed what it says just under chapter 9, it says '_after_ training' cause in this case I skipped it cause it wasn't too important.

**Chapter 9**

**---Next Day After Training---**

All the bladers started walking through the dark halls to their room. Serenity was the first to go change, Tala sat on the window sill and Bryan lay on his bed just staring at the ceiling. There was a hard knock on the bedroom door and Bryan got up and opened it. "What do you want?" Bryan asked coldly.

"Boris would like to see you in his office now" The guard replied monotonously before leaving.

"What happened? What did the guard want?" Serenity asked, walking from the bathroom door to Bryan.

"Boris wants to see me, I'll try to be back soon" Bryan said before walking out into the hall.

Serenity sighed and closed the door behind him. She sat down on her bed before sighing again and flopping back lazily and in much frustration. "I will never understand him; I mean one day he can talk about his feelings but the next he can't? –It's crazy" she said.

"Maybe it isn't so crazy" Tala mused, "Bryan is confused, he is trying to decide between what he has been taught for so many years and what you are trying to teach him. You can't expect him to trust you so soon, he needs some time" he explained.

"I think you're right" Serenity whispered. "Though I wish that he would loosen up a little around us" she said.

"He needs time, if I were in his position I know that I would need time to trust others" Tala said getting off the window and sitting next to Serenity's resting form.

"I know and I'm the same way but…I'm afraid that because he keeps everything inside that he will lose too much of himself and it will taken even longer time for him to trust us" Serenity said, voicing her concerns as she sat up.

"I have to disagree with that, if you're right, by him keeping it all inside then he will eventually break down, when he does we will be all he would have to help and once he sees that we mean no harm to him then he'll trust us a lot more" Tala said, placing his arm around Serenity's waist and letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

"But I don't want him to break down, it hurts too much especially with all that he holds inside" Serenity said, closing her light blue eyes.

"I know but he'll need someone's help and we can both help him" Tala said, tightening his grip around her. "We didn't become like him because we had each other over the years, but he had no one. So now we have to help him but he has to let us help him and he has to help himself too." He said.

Tala looked down at Serenity to see her smiling, "Look at you, speaking words of wisdom" she said, laughing.

Tala smiled and laughed a little too, "What, you think you're the only person who can speak some sort of wisdom?" he asked.

"No, it's not that. I just didn't think I'd ever hear you speaking so much sense" Serenity replied, still smiling.

"I'll save that argument for another time. I'm going to change" Tala replied, loosening his hold on her and walking to the bathroom to change for dinner.

Serenity lay on the bed again, still with the smile tugging at her lips. Though her smile quickly faded when she remembered that Bryan was still with Boris and the thought of what could be happening scared the hell out of her. She closed her eyes to rest and avoided any thought of Bryan at the time. She heard the door opening and quickly opened her eyes and shot up to see who it was but saw that it was only Tala. She slowly got off the bed and hugged him tightly when he walked closer to her, "I was thinking that maybe…we should try to leave as soon as possible. What do you think?" she asked softly.

"I think…that it's a good idea" Tala replied, embracing the hug and lacing his fingers through her soft hair.

"Thanks" Serenity whispered back softly, resting her head on his shoulder. "9:00pm and Bryan isn't back yet, I guess we have to go to dinner without him." She muttered, looking up at the clock across from her.

Tala rolled his eyes and moved her away from him a little, smiling a lot when he looked into her worried eyes, "Stop worrying, he'll be fine" he told her before kissing her softly.

"I hope you are right" Serenity muttered, walking out the door.

The couple walked into the dining room and sat down in their usual places. Tala just rested back in his seat with his eyes closed while Serenity was the opposite, her eyes were open and looking around in case Bryan walked in or in case she noticed anymore kids being called away or kids missing from their places in the dining room. Going on with Serenity's train of fear, no one came or left the dining room until dinner was all over. Both Serenity and Tala started walking back to their bedroom again, Tala wouldn't admit it to Serenity but he felt that something was terribly wrong at the time. He had felt that way all week but he couldn't really tell what it was that was bothering him, he wasn't sure what it was that he was feeling.

They walked into their bedroom and Serenity closed the bedroom door quietly behind her after seeing an already sleeping Bryan in bed. "I told you he was alright" Tala whispered to Serenity before lying in his own bed. Serenity knelt down beside Bryan's bed, still feeling to her that something was wrong but at the time nothing seemed wrong to her. She sighed in defeat and got of the ground after pulling the covers tighter around him. She walked back to her own bed and lay under the covers trying to keep herself warm. Tala smiled and leaned over her to look at her face, "Can't admit I was right can you?" he asked.

Serenity sighed again in aggravation, the one thing she hated the most was admitting to anyone but herself and Luna that she was wrong, but in this case, she knew that Tala wouldn't leave her alone whether she admitted it or not. "You're right then, are you happy now?" she asked.

"Quite" Tala replied. Kissing her on the cheek quickly, he got under the covers and pulled Serenity close to him. He noticed Serenity's slightly serious look and sat up a little on his side and looked at her, "You mad?" he asked.

Serenity smiled and turned on her back, "No I'm not mad, I'm not _that_ childish" she said.

"Really? - Personally I thought that you are very childish" Tala replied jokingly.

"Shut up" Serenity whispered, playfully punching him in the shoulder. Tala continued smiling but just lay back in bed and held Serenity close to him and tried to sleep, as did Serenity. They both slept peacefully, not having too much of a choice since training was exhausting that day and neither of them had any reason to avoid it, so they just let sleep overcome them.

**---Next Day During Training- An hour before Dinner---**

For the past few days every one had been made to train by themselves and while Serenity was in a corner of the room training alone she hadn't noticed a fight break out between Tala and one of the guards. Serenity turned round when she heard something being slammed against the stone wall and couldn't do more then just watch. Tala had been pinned against the wall and had just gotten punched in the face. Serenity gasped and fear clutched tightly at her aching heart, she couldn't move, she couldn't speak and she couldn't even think. All she could even feel was the fear for Tala. Pain and fear struck her again like a lightning bolt when Tala got punched a couple of times in the stomach and fell onto the floor with a sickening thud and being kicked in the side by the guard. Pushing himself onto his hands and knees, he started to gasp for air. Serenity pulled herself to the surface and ran over to him, sitting next to him and pulling him up a little to sit up. She glared coldly at the guard and slowly loosened her hold on Tala and quickly pulled her beyblade and launcher of their holder.

Pulling furiously on the rip cord, she launched Luna at the guard but just missed the guard's head by a couple of centimeters. "Cant you go through one day without picking on someone?" Serenity asked crossly, not moving from her place next to Tala.

The guard just continued glaring downwards at Serenity, "Don't you think you care a little too much for these pathetic children when you are above them?" he asked coldly.

"Pathetic?" Serenity asked, beyond furiously, a fire of anger appearing in her once blue eyes. She stood up in front of the fallen Tala and rage rushed through her, "You're calling them pathetic? – How dare you even try calling them that, each of them have survived this pointless training day in and day out, they have survived countless beatings and all of them are still here standing in front of you, and you're here calling them pathetic?" She yelled, heatedly, the fire of anger filling her eyes and voice. "And on another note, I am not above them and I have absolutely no intentions of trying to be better then them" she said finally. She continued glaring at the guard and saw the faint look of fear in his eyes but didn't lose her hardened look, seeing as the guard wasn't going to say anything else at the time she decided to make her last move, "You can all leave" she told the other trainees, her voice softening a little on the younger children.

The other bladers didn't move, afraid as to what the guard would say, Serenity looked around her and finally noticed the scared look on all their faces, "Don't worry, you can leave" she said, her voice softening a little but still holding its firmness. All the bladers left the room, including Bryan but Tala stayed behind, still gasping for air. Serenity turned back to the guard and glared coldly, "Don't you dare lay a hand on them or I'll kill you, now leave" she ordered.

The guard hesitated at first into obeying her order but then left. Serenity sighed again in frustration and her eyes softened greatly, she turned back to Tala and helped him to his feet. She took his hand and held onto him tightly but he just dubbed over in pain and she stopped and looked at him. Seeing that he was in pain Serenity didn't try to move him at the time, "You ok?" Serenity whispered worriedly.

"I'm fine" Tala replied, straightening up a little.

Serenity helped him up to their bedroom, stopping from time to time for Tala to rest a little. They made it up to their room and Tala lay back on his bed and groaned in pain. Bryan had been lying lazily on his bed as usual, "Could you get the first aid kit please" Serenity called to him, sighing he got up and went to the bathroom to get a first aid kit. Meanwhile Serenity slowly opened Tala's jump suite jacket and lifted the black top that was underneath, revealing a large bruise that covered most of his stomach and little trickles of blood seeped out of little cuts that were spread out on the bruised skin.

Serenity ran her finger along the bruised skin, making Tala wince in pain when Serenity's cold finger touched the little cuts. Bryan came back with the first aid kit and tossed it onto the bed next to Serenity. She opened the first aid kit quickly and took out a small piece of soft cloth, she then took out a small white jar of cream and dipped the cloth on the surface of it and then dapped it onto the little cuts. Tala occasionally lifted his head a little to see Serenity tending to the cuts, he watched as she got up and walked to the bathroom, taking a piece of dry clean cloth with her. She soaked it in cold water and squeezed some of the water out of it, walking back to Tala and placing it on the bruise to reduce the swelling. "How does that feel?" she asked softly.

"Hurts" Tala whispered between ragged gasps.

"Sorry" Serenity whispered back, gently pulling the cloth away. She removed the cloth and the first aid kit and put them back into the bathroom. She came back to him and looked down at Tala, worry evident in her eyes. She pushed a strand of red hair away from his face and kissed him on the forehead. Pulling away from him a little she stayed close to him, the tip of her nose touching his and she kissed him on the lips. "We're leaving tonight" she whispered.

Tala just nodded and sat up a little in his bed; "We're leaving" he called out to Bryan. Bryan looked up at him quickly and nodded.

**---In Jeremy's Room---**

Jeremy lay on his bed quietly, staring at the ceiling since he was trying to get some rest before dinner. A puddle of water seeped from under the bathroom door and Jeremy and Mike sat up to look at it. Luna materialized through the water, "Who are you?" Jeremy asked.

Luna narrowed her eyes, "I've been beating around that piece of metal you call a beyblade for the past six years and now you're insulting me by not knowing who I am?- Men" Luna said.

"Luna?" Jeremy asked, getting off the bed.

"The one and only" Luna replied.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Serenity?" Mike asked, getting of his own bed and standing next to Jeremy.

"My Mistress sent me to tell you that she plans to escape tonight and we are going to try our hardest to get you all out of here quickly without blood being spilt but we need your help" Luna replied.

"What do you need?" Jeremy asked.

"We just need you to keep safe, if Boris asks where any of us are just don't tell him" Luna said, "You wont have to hold him off for very long, she says that it would be about a week before you are all out" she continued.

"Boris won't find out about this, we promise" Mike said, dumbfounded at the idea that they could be free in about a week.

"Thank you" Luna said, bowing her head a little.

"But where would we even go?" Jeremy asked.

Luna smiled sweetly, "That is the least of our worries, you see my Mistress has a friend who is almost like a father to her and he can easily find you all a place to stay" she explained.

"Really? She can do that?" Mike asked.

Luna just nodded in reply and then looked at the ceiling, "My Mistress is calling me, I must leave but till we meet again please try to keep safe" Luna said, before disappearing in fire.

Luna appeared behind Serenity, "Ok so I take it that we can leave," Serenity said.

"So what is this plan of yours that will get us out of here?" Bryan asked, standing in front of Serenity.

"Well faze one is quite easy" Serenity said, she jumped up onto the window sill and signaled Bryan and Tala to follow her. Bryan jumped onto the window sill easily but Tala had some trouble because the bruise still hurt but he managed to get up anyway. Serenity pointed out the window, "You see that fence over there?" she asked, earning two nods from her roommates. "This side of the fence doesn't have any guards what so ever, so it is clear sailing, there is a small emergency hatch in the metal gate that guards would use in case of a fire or something and so we can leave through that" she explained.

"How will we get down there?" Tala asked.

Serenity grinned rather evilly, "I got that planned too" she said. "Luna a little help please" she called. Luna smiled back with that same devilish grin and entered her blade again. Serenity pushed Bryan and Tala off the window sill and she stood on the bed, readying her launcher. Bryan and Tala thought she would try to crash her blade through the window but instead she just dropped her blade on the window sill, and let it spin there before letting a thin layer of ice freeze over the window. Serenity smiled and looked back at them and signaled them to follow her onto the window sill again, she tapped her finger onto the glass and instantly broke in front of them. Then she looked as far down as her eyes would let her in the dark, "That is how we are getting down" she said.

Tala looked down and his eyes widened when he realized how far down that was, "We can't jump" he said.

"For once I'll agree with him" Bryan said.

"Oh come on you two, show a little spine and lets see what you're made of" Serenity said, much more encouragingly.

"Everyone will see what I'm made of if I jump" Tala complained.

"Just make sure to jump outwards because of the glass on the ground and you'll be fine" Serenity advised.

"There is no chance in hell that I'm going to jump" Tala said, shaking his head.

"You have a choice, you can either jump by yourself or I can throw you out, it is your choice" Serenity said.

"Fine, I'll go by myself" Tala muttered, sighing or rather taking a deep breath for the fall he jumped out the window quickly.

Serenity looked out behind him; she wanted to call to him to see if he landed ok but knew that she would just end up alerting guards. "Your turn" she said, turning to Bryan. He sighed but jumped out the window willingly since he knew that if Serenity said she would push him out then there would be a very good chance that she would do it and really toss him out of the window without a second thought.

Serenity watched him down and then picked up her back pack, she tossed it out the window and picked up Luna and put her in her pocket. She quickly jumped out the window and landed on the ground on her hands and knees. "Are you ok?" She heard Tala ask.

Serenity pushed herself slowly off the cold snow but the pain in her leg stopped her for a second. A small gash was on her knee and she looked down at it, realizing that she had fallen on a few glass shards. She sighed and picked up her back pack, brushing off the cold snow before it soaked all her things in it. "Let's go" she said, running to the fence on the other side of the yard while the other two bladers followed behind her. Serenity felt around on the fence and then crouched down onto the ground, she wiped off some snow and to see a red line running across the metal bars. She pushed against the metal bar with the line on it and the hatch opened, Serenity pushed herself underneath it and Tala came next and then Bryan.

They ran quickly down a few blocks and stopped when they thought they were far enough from the abbey. "So where next?" Bryan asked, panting as he leaned against a wall.

"The nearest airport" Serenity replied simply, breathing heavily as they all were.

"Where is that?" Tala asked, leaning against the wall for support, his hand placed on his bruised stomach since his slow breathing came out in gasps and hurt a lot with the bruised skin.

"I guess we're going to have to find out" Serenity replied, limping a little to the end of the deserted street. She saw a young woman on the other side of the street that was opening the door to her house. Serenity ran up to her before the woman went into the house, "Excuse me? – Could you tell me where the nearest airport is?" she asked.

The woman turned to Serenity and looked down at the young girl, "Not far from here, do you need to go somewhere?" she asked kindly.

"Erm…yes actually, my friends and I need to go to Japan and we don't quite know where the airport is, do you think you could give us directions?" Serenity asked, trying to soften her eyes as much as she could to even get some sympathy from the woman.

"I have a map if you would like that" The woman replied. "I can get it for you if you like, just give me a second" the woman said, before quickly retreating into the house and coming back with a folded up paper. "Here, I hope this helps" The woman said, handing Serenity the map.

"It helps a lot, thank you" Serenity said, smiling as she walked back to Tala and Bryan and the woman finally closed the door.

"You certainly know how to play the innocent beggar girl role" Tala said, seeing Serenity's hardening a little more after she toned them down for the woman to see her innocence.

"How do you think I used to get out of training?" Serenity asked, opening the map and walking down a road with the others behind her.

"That's cold" Tala said, smirking.

**---At The Airport---**

"Ok we're here now what do we do?" Tala asked, looking around the dark airport.

"Now I need to make a phone call but I need money" Serenity said.

"And where on this planet do you want to get money from? We have nothing at all with us" Tala said, complaining like he had been for the past hour during the walk.

"I'm not like you sweetie, I come prepared" Serenity said, smiling as she looked around for something. After spotting what she needed to find, she walked over to a machine, she opened her back pack and took out her phoenix shaped necklace and looked at the back of it. A few numbers were etched onto the metal of the phoenix pendant and she entered the number into the computer of the machine and in little time money fell out of a slot and Serenity took it and looked through it. "What were you saying?" she asked Tala, smirking and holding back a laugh. "Now we call for help" she said.

She walked over to a pay phone and put some money in before dialing a number, keeping her fingers crossed as she hoped that Mike would answer his phone quickly since she wanted to hurry up and get out of Russia as quickly as she could. A man with a deep voice picked up the phone, "Hello?" he asked.

"Hey, Mike?" Serenity asked, a smile tugging at her lips with absolute joy.

"Serenity?" Mike asked. "Serenity is that you?" he asked again.

"Yeah, it's me." Serenity said simply.

"Damn it Serenity where have you been all these years?" Mike asked.

"That is the problem and the reason why I'm calling, I need you to listen and I need you to listen well." Serenity said, her voice being much sterner. She started to explain everything she knew about the abbey and about all the kids there. She explained about how she, Tala and Bryan had managed to escape and told him that she needed the C.I.A to stop Boris and to help free the kids quickly.

"Any idea who put you in the abbey?" Mike asked, speaking for the first time since Serenity started explaining.

"Remember Lucia?" Serenity asked.

"The housekeeper?" Mike asked confusedly.

"Yeah, she is the one that got me signed into the abbey, I'm sure of it" Serenity said.

"Ok I'll see what I can do, I'll get you on the first flight to Japan and in the meantime I can work out some things at the office to be able to look around this abbey you've been in" Mike replied.

"Thanks" Serenity said, "We'll go to the apartment after the airport" she told him.

"And I'll see you there to tell you what will be going on, in the meantime just relax and I'll book a flight for you and your friends to get here soon" Mike said.

"Thanks again Mike but please hurry" Serenity said, her voice shaking a little.

"You sound like you're panicking, is something wrong?" Mike asked.

"At the moment so many things are wrong, the kids still in the abbey could get hurt, Boris could come after us and I might be pregnant" Serenity said.

"Pregnant?" Mike asked sternly.

"Yeah and don't start yelling or anything, I wasn't around you long enough for you to teach me about safe sex" Serenity said before Mike could say anything else.

"Whatever we'll talk about this later but for now just relax and wait till I get you a flight" Mike said, surprisingly calm.

"Ok, bye" Serenity said, before putting the phone back onto the receiver.

"Now what do we do?" Tala asked, "We're meant to just sit and wait?" he asked.

"Not really, we should go get something to eat, I'm getting a little hungry" Serenity said. They all walked to the food court and ordered something to eat which was a relief for all of them since none of them had eaten that night and Bryan hadn't eaten in the last two days but had refused to eat anything when Serenity offered though she still made him eat. "I was just thinking…" Tala started.

"Will wonders ever cease" Serenity muttered, before she continued eating.

Tala glared a little, "Anyway…don't we need passports or something, I don't know how much they're going to let us get to Japan without a passport" he said.

"I have that covered too," Serenity said, pulling her backpack onto her lap and looking through the bag. She pulled out three small booklets that were covered in brown leather and she looked through them quickly and handed them out.

"Where the hell did you get these?" Bryan asked, looking down at his passport.

"Boris has a passport for all the older kids in the abbey, in case they have to travel for tournaments then he needs to get them a passport. I just happened to come across the safe they were kept in and found ours easily" Serenity explained as she placed her bag back onto the floor and continued eating her fries.

"How the hell do you do it?" Tala asked smiling, pocketing his passport.

Serenity just shrugged and looked up when a young woman walked over to them. "Are you Serenity?" The young hostess asked.

"Who wants to know?" Serenity asked, standing up.

"A man named Mike called and has booked three tickets for Japan, your plane leaves in an hour but until then he suggested in putting you into the VIP area" The woman told her.

"Erm…thanks" Serenity said, picking up her bag and swinging it over her shoulder and following the woman.

They walked into a large lounge and looked around in amazement at the elegance of the large room, "You may rest and I will be sure to wake you in time for your flight" the woman said politely, "Help yourself to any food and just relax" she said.

They all nodded and they sat down on a couch and the woman walked over to her desk by the door, Serenity continued looking around, still feeling very nervous since she wasn't sure if Boris had found out that they had escaped and thought that maybe he could have followed her. "Would you just relax" Tala told Serenity pulling his arm around her.

Serenity gritted her teeth but avoided his eyes, "I'll relax when everyone would stop telling me to relax" Serenity whispered angrily.

They all sat there quietly and just waited to be called away for their flight.

**---An Hour and A Half Later---**

All three bladers were seated in the plane, Serenity sat next to Tala who sat by the window and Bryan sat opposite them. Tala and Serenity had been asleep and Serenity rested her head against Tala's shoulder and Bryan just stared out the window with his arms crossed. Serenity slowly stirred and looked out the window at the view of Japan. She then looked at Bryan and saw him still awake, "Aren't you tired?" she whispered to him.

"Not really" Bryan replied, still staring out the window where the sky was different shades of reds and oranges.

Serenity was about to speak again but a woman came up to her, "Excuse me miss, you have a very important phone call in the back" she told her.

Serenity got up and followed the woman to the back room and the woman left Serenity with the phone and Serenity closed the curtain fro privacy. "Hello?" she asked.

"Hey Serenity, listen I managed to work things out in the main office and we should be able to search the abbey but if we don't find anything at the time then we are going to need something to get us the warrant to search the place," Mike explained.

"We aren't a good reason to get it done?" Serenity asked in frustration.

"Actually you are a good reason, you said that you were being beaten and abused there so when you arrive at the apartment I'm going to have to get doctors to check on wounds. A doctor will be there and he'll have to take in account all the wounds and scars since they could help to get the warrant" Mike continued explaining.

Serenity sighed, "Well ok then, the plane should be landing soon so it shouldn't take too long to get to the apartment" she said. "Do you think you could include a pregnancy test, just in case?" she asked.

"Don't worry, I'll have it arranged" Mike said. "I'll see you later then, bye" he said.

"Bye" Serenity said finally, putting the phone down and walking back to her seat.

She sat back down in her seat and took Tala's hand; he had just woken up and looked at Serenity when she laced their fingers together. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

Serenity sighed again in aggravation and rested her head on his shoulder again, "Mike said that doctors will be at the apartment to check us out and I'm just afraid as to what is going to happen and what they're going to say about me" she said.

Bryan looked rather uncomfortable at the thought of the doctors but no one had seemed to notice. "It doesn't matter, you'll be fine. We got this far without you getting scared now don't let this get in the way" Tala told her, pulling an arm around her holding onto her supportively.

"I hope you're right" Serenity whispered.

Tala looked down at her when she said that and saw by the look on her face that she was scared, "You're not going to cry are you?" he asked softly.

Serenity smiled a little, "No I'm not going to cry" she whispered.

"Good, I was scared you were going to cry" Tala said, laughing.

"Shut up" Serenity said, pounding her fist playfully on his stomach but wasn't a good idea because of the bruise that was still there. "Sorry" she said, laughing at Tala's pain.

**---In the Street, An Hour Later---**

Serenity led Tala and Bryan through her old neighborhood to find her old apartment. They walked a couple of blocks and they came to a small building and metal stairs went up a little to a door and Serenity walked up the unsteady stairs until she heard someone call her name. She looked over the railings and saw a man with sandy blonde air staring up at her; she smiled and jumped over the railings and down to the ground. "Jake" she said, hugging him as she always knocked him over.

Tala looked on as Serenity hugged the older boy, feeling a pang of jealousy nag at him for a second. Serenity stepped away from Jake, still smiling, "Where have you been?" Jake asked.

"It's a long story" Serenity replied, "But I just got back from a place very far away" she said.

"I bet you don't have food then, I could get you some, I'm sure you're busy" Jake replied.

"We are kind of busy, are you sure you can though?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah sure, I'm working today anyway so I'll bring some stuff by soon" Jake replied.

"Thanks, here" Serenity said, handing him some money from her pocket.

"No way, it's on me" Jake replied, "I'll see you later, bye" he said, running off quickly.

Serenity sighed in defeat and walked back to the stairs and walked up behind Bryan and walked up to her door. "Who was that?" Tala asked, trying to keep his voice more casual then concerned.

"He works in a grocery story around the corner and he's been a good friend of mine when I was younger" Serenity explained, ramming the door open, startling Tala and Bryan a little. Serenity walked into her apartment and walked into the living room which was the main room and across a small kitchen could be seen. She walked around the living room and ran her hand over the wooden furniture and smiled, "Just the way I left it" she whispered.

**A/N: **Ok that was the end of the chapter I hope you liked it. Ok Silvan Arrow I guess this chapter answered your question. I hope this chapter was good, I always new how they would escape but found this chapter a little hard to write. Ok please tell me what you think because I need to know what you thought of it so that I could continue. Please Review.


	10. Painful Wounds Help To Trust

**A/N: **Hey People, ok this is the next chapter, I hope you like it. By the way, last chapter I forgot to ask you all what you thought about Bryan getting nervous about the doctors but I guess you'll all find out in this chapter but I spoke to my friend Demi-Goddess – Queen Of OCs and she was very close.

**Chapter 10**

Tala stepped into the apartment and looked around the living room. Serenity dumped her backpack onto the floor when she noticed Bryan just standing near the door, leaning against the door frame with arms crossed. She slowly walked over to him and latched onto his arm and pulled him inside closed the door behind him, taking his hand she pulled him further inside the apartment, "Make yourself at home" she whispered, looking up into his blank eyes.

"I don't feel right being here" Bryan whispered, pulling his hand away from hers.

"Why?" Serenity asked softly, crossing her arms.

"Because I shouldn't be here, this is your place, not mine" Bryan replied, "I have to go" he whispered, turning to the door and opening it quickly.

Serenity grabbed his forearm and pulled him near her again and took a grip on his other arm to keep him from moving away and squeezed his arm tightly when he tried to pull out of her hold. "And where will you go? What is your problem with staying here? – You aren't intruding and are more then welcome to stay here so I don't see what could be the problem" Serenity said, whispering so that Tala didn't hear her. Squeezing his forearm even tighter in her grip when he turned his head away from her and making him wince in pain, thinking that he only winced because of the pressure she put on his arm but more pain was happening then Bryan was letting on and more pain had been surging from his arms.

"The problem is that you and Tala belong here but I don't" Bryan replied through gritted teeth and glaring coldly at Serenity.

"What makes you believe that you don't belong here too? You can't think that you don't belong here, you're a smart person and I can't believe that you're mind is actually telling you that you shouldn't be here. You deserve to be here, after all you've been through you deserve to be with friends" Serenity said, angrily at first but softening her voice closer to the end but still kept her voice down to a whisper. "Please stay" she whispered.

Bryan sighed in defeat but still remained tense under Serenity's hold on him. She slowly let go of him and then closed the door. Serenity turned round and slowly walked over to Tala. He was sitting on the sofa, holding a frame and smiling as he looked at the picture. The frame held a picture of a six year old Serenity wearing a pale blue silk dress and lay smiling on a double bed. Her smile was that of a young child, somewhat playful and mischievous

Serenity sat down next to him and smiled at her strange picture, "I looked so weird" she said laughing.

"Not really, I think it's cute" Tala replied, placing the frame back onto the table.

"You're such a liar" Serenity said, narrowing her eyes. "Anyway why don't I show you two to your rooms?" she said getting up.

She led them to their rooms and after showing them around she went to her room and lay lazily on her bed after looking around through her old stuff. She turned in her bed and lay on her side, her thoughts drifting to what Mike would say if she were pregnant. Her worrying thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door bell ringing and she ran out of her room to see Tala already opening the door. In the doorway stood a tall man with dark black hair and eyes that looked similar to Serenity's. Serenity ran to the door and hugged the tall man, who both Tala and Bryan assumed was Mike. "Serenity? How you've changed over the years" Mike exclaimed, embracing the hug.

"You too Mike" Serenity said, moving out of the hug and looking up at Mike and smiling sweetly at him.

"Yeah, a lot changed since you left" Mike replied.

"Not by chose" Serenity said, frowning a little.

"Care to introduce me to your friends?" Mike asked, changing the subject quickly.

"Oh yeah, this is Tala and Bryan" Serenity said, pointing to each of the two bladers in the room.

Mike shook Tala's hand but then he went for Bryan's hand but Bryan just walked off and sat on the couch with his arms crossed and arms crossed. Mike looked at Serenity but she just shook her head and Mike nodded in understanding. "Ok, medics should be here soon enough" Mike informed them.

"So what exactly will they be looking for?" Serenity asked.

"Scars, injuries anything that could confirm what goes on in the abbey" Mike said. "What makes you think it was your housekeeper that sent you there?" he asked Serenity.

"At the abbey we were always told that emotions were for the weak and that is exactly what Lucia had been telling me" Serenity replied, sitting down on the sofa.

"Nothing was allowed there, friendship and love was forbidden and if anyone was found socializing then they would most probably get beaten." Tala continued explaining, sitting next to Serenity on the sofa.

"What does he gain out of kidnapping kids and making them have no feelings at all?" Mike asked.

'_The perfect soldier' _Bryan thought bitterly.

"He gets brainless warriors that would help him take over the world for him" Tala said spitefully.

"That guy is insane" Serenity said, moving closer to Tala.

"I can tell" Mike said.

Within the next hour the medics had arrived and where settling in the things into the bedrooms, they all went to their bedrooms where doctors tended to each of them. Tala had been the first one out and sat down on the sofa, patiently waiting for Serenity to come out of her room. Bryan came out a few minutes later and stayed staring out the window, ignoring Tala and Mike completely. Serenity took about an hour in her room and Tala's head shot up when he saw her bedroom door creak open slowly. Serenity walked over to the sofa and sat sideways next to Tala so her back rested against his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked down at her when she closed her eyes and leaned hr head against his chest. He was about to ask her about the pregnancy test but then Serenity's doctor walked up in front of him and Serenity and had stood next to Mike. "So is she?" he asked, looking up at the young female doctor.

"No, she isn't" The nurse replied simply after sighing.

"So what had happened?" Tala asked, holding onto Serenity tighter when she shifted uncomfortably.

"Radiation started to somewhat effect her body, giving her all the signs of pregnancy which in turn made her feel the affects of pregnancy when she wasn't really pregnant" The doctor explained.

"Radiation?" Mike asked.

"Explains a lot, the abbey is filled with powerful machines and computers. Even scientists have been know for getting sick after working at the computers for too long" Tala explained. "Is it serious?" he asked the doctor.

"Not too serious, many women have been known to have it. It's nothing that a short treatment can't fix" The doctor said.

"Then unless she has any objections, give her the treatment" Tala said, looking down for a second to see if Serenity would object but then turned back to looking at the doctor.

The doctor smiled a little at the love and consideration Tala held for Serenity, "The treatment consists of a low sugar diet and plenty of bed rest" she said.

"You think you can handle that?" Tala asked, looking down at Serenity.

Serenity opened her eyes and looked up a little, "I guess" she whispered in reply.

"This was also brought up by stress and worry so it is safest to keep both of those to a short limit" The doctor continued advising.

"The abbey was all about stress so I'm not too surprised then" Tala said.

"And Serenity could change all she wanted to over the years but she'll never stop worrying about others" Mike said, thinking back to when Serenity was younger.

"I agree, it's what makes Serenity who she is" Tala said, smiling at Serenity.

Serenity sat up a little and smiled at Tala, "I guess it isn't really me if I don't worry huh?" she said laughing a little at the end.

"No it isn't" Tala said.

"If you came here not caring then I would think that there was something terribly wrong with you" Mike said, laughing.

The other two doctors took the things back down to the car and handed Mike three files before they left. He sat down on the sofa and looked through them quickly. "So do you think it will get the warrant?" Serenity asked, snuggling up to Tala on the sofa.

"More then enough, we should be able to get the warrant soon and we'll be able get the FBI to search the place in the next two days" Mike informed.

"That's good" Serenity said, smiling.

"I'll be in my room if you need me" Bryan said, getting off the armchair and walking down the hall to his bedroom.

"What's up with him?" Tala asked.

"I might have an idea" Mike muttered.

"What do you mean?" Serenity asked quickly when she heard the faint words, turning her head from looking down the hall and turning her attention back to Mike.

"Do any of you know about all the wounds the doctor found on him?" Mike asked.

"No, what type of wounds?" Serenity asked, panicking and sitting up quickly.

"All kinds, they seemed really serious, stab wounds and whiplashes covered him everywhere" Mike said.

"Well he did get beaten a week ago and had gotten beaten with a whip so maybe…" Serenity said.

"These whiplashes were fresh and so were the stab wounds" Mike said, shaking his head a little.

"We didn't know about any of it" Serenity said.

"Well they seemed pretty bad, the stab wounds seemed to have done a lot of damage, how could you not have noticed the cuts and stab wounds on him?" Mike asked, placing the files onto the table.

"Actually we were all trained to hide wounds" Serenity said.

"We were always given extra clothes that could hide scars and fresh wounds in case someone had to come to the abbey. Before someone came to the abbey we would have to change and Boris and the guards would check that none of our injuries would show, so none of us are really surprised that he managed to keep them from us." Tala explained, continuing for Serenity.

"The wounds had been cleaned and wrapped but it could have been far worse. The doctor was able to clean the wounds properly since they were widening a little and were bleeding and they have been wrapped but he'll be able to remove them soon" Mike explained, looking through Bryan's file.

"And what about Serenity? - Anything serious?" Tala asked.

"Apart from that pregnancy mistake, nothing much. A couple of scrapes and scars but nothing too much, though you really should have tended to the cut on your knee earlier" Mike said, glaring rather angrily at Serenity.

Serenity just shrugged rather confusedly, "Why? I'm used to it besides, it didn't hurt" she said. "Lets move on to something else, anything on Tala?" she asked, glaring at Tala as if questioning him.

Mike looked at her strangely when she glared at Tala, "Don't you trust him?" he asked.

"Of course I trust him, but sometimes he doesn't tell me when something is wrong or when he's hurt" Serenity said.

"I can't say that you weren't the same way" Mike said.

"What do you mean?" Tala asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Shut up" Serenity told him.

"No thanks, I want to hear this" Tala said, sitting forward.

Mike smiled at Tala's sudden interest in Serenity's past, "When she was younger she would never admit to being hurt but she would always expect someone to tell her if something were wrong. She was always caring that way" he said, smiling.

"Some things never change" Tala said, smiling as he shook his head a little.

"You're right some things will never change" Mike said, "And work will never change either so I better get back to it" he said, standing up and picking up the files. He walked over to Serenity and kissed her softly on her head, "Take care sweetie, you know where to find me if you need anything" he said.

"Thanks Mike…for everything" Serenity said, hugging Mike and kissing him softly on the cheek.

"Glad I could help, take care of yourselves" Mike said finally, walking out the door.

Serenity moved closer to Tala and rested in his arms and lay against his chest. "Are you tired?" Tala asked quietly.

"A little" Serenity whispered, closing her eyes.

"Then shouldn't you go get some rest?" Tala asked. He looked down at her when she didn't reply and noticed that she had fell asleep in his arms. He smiled a little at the tired yet peaceful look on her face, he shifted her position in his arms and pushed himself up and carried her bridal-style to her bedroom. He pulled back the white silk covers a little and placed Serenity down and pulled the covers over her again. He walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down for a minute, staring at the ground as he thought. He sighed a little and looked back at Serenity again, his back to her, he lay down next to her and pulled an arm around her waist and held her close to him. He closed his ever blue eyes to rest and slept shortly after.

**---Almost Two Hours Later---**

Tala had just gotten out of bed and walked out into the hall when the door bell rang. Jake was there and he took the food from him and Jake left soon after, claiming he had to get back to work. He took the things to the kitchen and was about to walk out the front door when a gentle voice stopped him in his tracks, "Where are you going?" Serenity asked from her bedroom door.

Tala turned round and looked at Serenity with a slight sign of sorrow in his eyes, "I'm…just going for a walk" he said quietly.

"Oh…ok. You'll be back soon right?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah, of course" Tala replied, smirking.

"Ok, be careful" Serenity said advising softly.

"Don't worry, I will" Tala said, turning back to the door and walking out.

Serenity sighed and lay on the sofa and pulled a blanket over her. She turned round on her side and just lay there, trying not to think about anything in particular since no matter what entered her mind she would end up worrying anyway. She heard a bedroom door open and she sat up quickly. She relaxed a little when she saw that it was Bryan, he walked over to the kitchen counter and made himself a glass of water, ignoring Serenity or not even noticing her from the beginning. He was about to walk back to his room when Serenity interrupted his departure, "Hey, why don't you stay near me for a while?" Serenity asked, gesturing to the space next to her on the sofa. Bryan hesitated but then walked over to the space near her and placed the glass on the table and sat back on the sofa and rested his head back and sighed, "Are you tired?" Serenity asked, looking at him rather confusedly.

"Not really" Bryan said, it was a complete lie, he had been exhausted for the past few days and lack of sleep was starting to catch up to him though he would never admit it to anyone, especially Serenity.

"Really? – cause you look exhausted" Serenity pointed out.

"I'm fine" Bryan said again, in a slightly more stern tone this time.

"Well ok, if you say so" Serenity said uncertainly. She pulled the cover over Bryan and she fixed a cushion under head and lay down again. "By the way, I noticed that you seemed really…I don't know, scared to see the doctor today, was something wrong?" she asked after about ten minutes of silence. She had just looked up at him in time to see him act a bit more nervous looking. "I asked you a question" Serenity said when he didn't answer.

"I was fine…I'm fine" Bryan said, still acting nervous but managed to keep his voice from shaking.

"I know that voice, you're not ok and I can tell so what is wrong?" Serenity asked sternly.

"I told you nothing is wrong" Bryan said again, he thought that if maybe he convinced him self that then maybe she would believe him, but for now she could see right through his tough façade.

"You know you can tell me so why don't you?" Serenity asked more softly when she noticed some form of pain entering Bryan's eyes. She moved closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder but he just shrugged it off roughly. "What is wrong?" Serenity asked again, her voice holding some sort of coldness to it.

Bryan winced; the cold of Serenity's usually kind and gentle voice gripping at his heart painfully. "Why do I have to tell you?" he asked angrily, looking at her coldly.

"Because I saw how scared you were today and I can help you if you tell me" Serenity said.

"You can't change the past" Bryan whispered.

"No but I can help you take it for the future" Serenity said reasonably.

"Shut up, you can't even help even if you tried" Bryan said, practically leaping out of his seat and glaring down at her, "You can't help everyone" he said, before trying to walk off.

Serenity grabbed his hand and pulled him back, he turned to look at her but she wouldn't let go of him despite his glares, "But I can at least try" she said, standing up next to him. He relaxed a little under her hold and her eyes softening made him calm down and somehow, now a part of him wanted to tell her what he was afraid of but the other part still yelled at him that she would just hurt him. He didn't want to push her away; he couldn't something in him wouldn't let him. Serenity gently pulled him back to sit down on the sofa and she sat down next to him. She held his hand in hers and he just stared at the ground, being sure to avoid her gaze. She then gave his hand a light squeeze, attracting his attention for him to look at her. "What's scaring you, _really_ scaring you?" she asked him gently.

Bryan sighed in defeat a little and rested his head back to look at the ceiling, "Boris used to have his scientists and doctors experiment on me…a lot and I hated it because of all the side affects there were and because I was just treated like a lab rat, not cared for and just used as a science experiment. It had hurt a lot, so toady…" he said, trailing off.

"You were afraid as to what would happen with the doctors" Serenity finished off for him, sparing him of having to continue talking about his seemingly painful past that still seemed to hurt him.

"Yeah" Bryan said, nodding a little before staring back at the ground.

"I'm sorry" Serenity whispered.

"Why? You didn't do anything" Bryan said.

"Yeah but because of my worry I brought up something that's really painful for you. If you would have told me sooner then maybe I could have worked something out with the doctor and maybe you wouldn't have had to go through what you went through today." Serenity said kindly. "But you have to know that the doctors here wouldn't hurt you the way the ones in the abbey did, but…I still understand your fear over it" she said understandingly.

"Thanks" Bryan whispered though still not taking his eyes off the ground.

"Anything else you want to add?" Serenity asked.

"No" Bryan replied simply after thinking a little.

"Ok then" Serenity said, she didn't really believe him, she knew there was more but he had seemed to have taken enough bashing and yelling that night so she just let it slide and pretend like nothing else was wrong. "Why don't you get some rest?" she asked.

"I tried, I couldn't sleep no matter how hard I tried" Bryan replied, shaking his head before resting it back.

"Then stay near me, maybe you'll sleep better" Serenity told him, pulling the blanket over him more.

"Not for now" Bryan said.

"You want to do something?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah but like what?" Bryan asked, looking at her.

"We could watch TV" Serenity suggested. Bryan just shrugged a little and Serenity switched on the TV. They sat there watching a movie for a while but Serenity tended to look at the clock more then the TV, it had been almost two hours since Tala had left and so it was now one in the morning when both Bryan and Serenity fell asleep.

**---Next Morning---**

Bryan sighed and groaned in pain, slowly lifting his head off the arm of the sofa and looked around. The TV had been switched off and he was now lying on the sofa with the blanket on him. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and threw the cover off him and slowly stood up, losing his balance at first but gaining balance quickly. He sat against the arm of the sofa a little and rubbed his sore neck from the uncomfortable position he had slept in that night. He pushed himself up again and looked around the room for any sign of the other two bladers but saw no sign of any of them. "Good Morning" a voice said from behind him.

Bryan turned round quickly; sleep swirling through his aching head. It was big mistake, his brain was now throbbing in his skull and pain filled his body. His hand moved from his side quickly when he felt faint and his hand grabbed the sofa again to keep him from falling. A horrible pain settled in his chest and he couldn't breathe properly, only letting his breath escape in short gasps and inhaling hurt his chest more. "Bryan?" Serenity asked, running toward him. Bryan winced at the voice that ran through his mind. He pressed his hands tightly on his wounds; he could already feel the blood from his wounds seeping through his shirt. The pain was unbearable and he started to feel like falling when he felt a rush of blood seep out of the stab wounds on his chest and stomach. The doctors had assured him that he didn't have to worry at all about the bleeding and that he would be able to remove the bandages after the antiseptic used had dried up.

Serenity looked at Bryan worriedly and hot tears started stinging her eyes. She helped Bryan sit back on the sofa and she gently slipped her hand up his black top and felt his cold skin covered in warm blood. She pulled her hand out and looked down at the blood and gasped, she looked up at Bryan again and saw him wince in pain, "What's happening?" Serenity asked, whispering.

"I don't know" Bryan said between breaths.

Bryan couldn't keep the pain from showing and he started to grip the blanket on the sofa tightly despite his lack of energy and strength. Serenity sat next to him and took his hand, "What's wrong? What can I do to help?" she asked.

"Nothing" Bryan whispered.

Sobs racked Bryan's slender frame and Serenity tried desperately to stop him from shaking. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly and kissed hot tears from his cheeks. Serenity rubbed Bryan's back gently, trying to calm him down but being careful not to touch the wounds. Bryan had always seemed so tall and so powerful next to her and now he was huddled up in her arms with tears streaming down his face. She hated to see him like this and she couldn't take it. Sobs gathered in Bryan's throat, making it even harder for him to breathe through all the pain. "What did you they do to you?" she asked, holding onto him tightly and trying to comfort him but was hard since she still wasn't sure as to what had happened.

"It hurt…it hurt so much" Bryan whispered, shutting his eyes tightly and wincing in pain.

**---An Hour Later---**

Serenity kept the phone to her ear as she paced through the living room, patiently waiting for Mike to pick up his phone. Mike picked up his phone and Serenity sighed in relief, "Hey Mike, listen do you mind sending over a doctor?" she asked.

"Why did something happen? Are you alright?" Mike asked worriedly.

"Yeah…I'm fine. It's not me it's Bryan but do you think you could send a doctor over quickly?" Serenity asked again, her voice shaking a little.

"Sure, I'll send one over soon" Mike replied.

"Thanks Mike, bye" Serenity said, before putting the phone back down in its place. She sat down opposite Bryan who lay on the sofa and Tala sat on the arm of the armchair that Serenity was sitting on, "Mike will have a doctor here soon to check on you so till then relax and don't move" Serenity told Bryan.

"I don't need a doctor" Bryan said, though his voice came out sounding rather weak so it didn't help him at all.

"Well whether you think you need one or not a doctor is coming so live with it" Tala said angrily.

"Erm…Tala could you excuse us for a second?" Serenity asked.

Tala hesitated a little, "Sure" he said finally, getting up and walking to Serenity's bedroom.

Serenity sat forward in her seat, "Look, I understand that you're not comfortable with doctors but this time you need one to check on all your wounds. You saw and felt what happened before, that is a result of what is going to keep happening if you don't let people help you" she explained caringly. "If you would have told me about the injuries earlier then maybe this wouldn't have happened" she said.

"I made a mistake, I'm sorry" Bryan said, raising his voice that returned to its cold feeling.

"I know you are but you can at least learn from your mistake and try to let us help you, it isn't easy and I know that but you have to at least try" Serenity said, her eyes holding their usual care and worry. She walked over to him and took his hand, kneeling down on the floor near him. "You're not going to get hurt if you trust us" she whispered. "Come on" she said, standing up. She helped Bryan up and took him to his bedroom and he just lay in bed and Serenity went back to her room. She walked in and closed the door behind her quietly when she saw Tala sitting on her bed and staring at the ground.

Tala turned his head to look at her, as usual his amazing ice blue eyes holding sorrow in them, "I'm sorry" he told her.

Serenity looked at him confusedly and sat next to him, "What for? What did you do?" she asked.

"I should have been here and shouldn't have left" Tala replied.

"You needed some time alone and besides things will be fine now" Serenity said, smiling.

"I hope you're right" Tala said.

"Don't worry, I am" Serenity said. She slowly leaned in and kissed him passionately on the lips, seriously deepening the kiss. Tala moved his hands down to her waist and let the fire of the passionate kiss from his lover consume him. They pulled away a little to breathe and Serenity smiled at him, almost grinning, "I thought you and I wouldn't be kissing like that again for a long time"

"And _somehow_ life goes on" A voice said. Mike had been leaning against the door frame about half way through the kiss, "It's amazing that whenever I see you two you either have your hands all over each other or you're making out" he said, smirking.

Serenity and Tala turned to look at the door where Mike had been standing and Serenity glared and Tala blushed a little and went back to staring at the ground, "Maybe if you ever thought of knocking then maybe you wouldn't always see us like this" Serenity said spitefully, getting up and walking over to stand in front of Mike. Mike was only twenty-seven years old, yet Serenity was still quite tall next to him, she came to just a little lower then his shoulder and her height was quite intimidating.

"Well excuse me" Mike said, in a fake hurt tone.

"Cut the crap" Serenity said, punching him in the shoulder, "Now where is the doctor?" she asked.

"Already checking on Bryan" Mike said, pointing backwards to the Bryan's closed bedroom door before rubbing his shoulder which he swore he felt was bruised.

"Thanks. I really hope he's alright" Serenity said, walking to her balcony door to look outside through the glass.

"Don't start worrying already, you heard the doctor with your own two ears and you're not meant to be stressing yourself out" Mike advised, keeping his distance by the door.

"I agree you really shouldn't be worrying right now" Tala said, walking up behind her.

Serenity turned round quickly and glared at him, "Traitor" she said angrily.

Tala smirked and walked closer to her, she turned her head away from him but he placed a finger under her chin and turned it towards him again, "Am I still a traitor if I am just saying because I care?" he asked.

"Yes because you should be taking my side" Serenity said. Tala leaned in again and kissed her softly on the lips as a way to win her over, he pulled away a little but still kept his close to hers, "You're moments away of sleeping on your own tonight" she said, trying not to let him defeat her.

"If it will protect you then I'll take that chance" Tala replied, kissing her again quickly, he walked out next to the door, "Get some rest, It'll do you good after all that happened" he said, pushing Mike out a little.

"But…" Serenity started, almost running across the room to the door.

"No buts, get some rest" Tala said again before closing the door behind him.

Serenity rolled her eyes and sat down on her bed, sighing in defeat but not seeming too disappointed.

**A/N: **Hey guys, what did you think of the chapter? I hope you liked it, I put loads of work into this chapter since it was hard but I hope some good came out of all of it. I will try to have the next chapter up sooner then usual since now I have my break for two weeks so I'll try to have a good chapter done. I have two little things to point out, first off I have put the votes together and Bryan will be paired in later chapters. And I also counted the votes for future fics and 'Angel Of Neglect' is the fic I'll work on after this one. Please review this chapter since I tried hard with it and please tell me what you liked and didn't like about it especially from Demi-Goddess since she was really looking forward to this chapter. Please review and by the way I put up a fic called 'Drowning Down The New Year' which I wrote about four years ago and decided to fix it up a little and post it. It is still crap but if you want to read it then please give me your opinion on it. Please review this chapter and thanks.


	11. Cute Romance and An Interigation

**Chapter 11**

Mike and Tala sat down in the living room opposite from each other. "You seriously know how to put Serenity in her place" Mike complemented Tala.

"I have no intension of doing something like that and honestly I don't order her around, but when it comes to her safety then that's the most important to me" Tala said, looking up Mike and sitting back in his seat.

"You have a lot of respect for her, how long have you known her?" Mike asked.

"About six years, we were room mates together from the first day we met and from the very first day she arrived" Tala said, thinking back to the first day they had met and realized how far they've come.

"Have you been sleeping together for that long?" Mike asked spitefully.

"Don't say that. I really love her and besides she's a big girl and she knows what she is doing. I respect Serenity a lot and I would never try to hurt her" Tala said honestly.

"Yes but she was still so young when she left here and she didn't know many things, like the consequences of all that she's been doing" Mike said.

"The abbey matured her and I know that she hates being treated like a child so you shouldn't keep seeing her as the little girl you took care of six years ago. She's not the same person and you have to realize that" Tala explained to him.

"Who are you to tell me how I should treat her?" Mike asked, almost yelling angrily.

"I am the person who knows Serenity more then you know her. I have known her for six years when you only knew her for about two years and you weren't even with her for half the time and you can't stay here and think that you know her" Tala said through gritted teeth.

Mike softened a little, "You're right, I can't. I know that Serenity changed a lot over the years and I wish I could just think that she was the same little girl I knew back then, but I still know that she isn't" he said.

"I know what you mean and I know that you probably don't trust me, especially with Serenity and I don't blame you but you have to trust me when I say that I wont hurt her" Tala said.

"I'll take your word for it" Mike said, smiling.

"What are you two talking about?" A voice asked.

Mike and Tala turned to the door and Serenity walked out of her room. "I thought I told you to go rest" Tala said.

"How long do you think I'd be in there for? I don't want to stay stuck on a bed for the rest of the day" Serenity said, sitting down next to Tala. "So what were you two talking about?" she asked again.

"Nothing important" Mike said, smiling.

Serenity raised an eyebrow when she saw Mike still smiling, "Where you talking about me?" she asked.

"Maybe" Tala replied, laughing.

"My dad and my boyfriend talking about me behind my back" Serenity said, thinking loudly. "It's a recipe for disaster, so you two better be careful around me" she said finally, getting up and going to the kitchen to get a drink.

"That a threat?" Mike asked.

"You have no idea; once she held a knife to a guard's throat - I think she's actually serious" Tala said.

"You held a knife to a guard's throat?" Mike asked. _'Wow, I guess she's changed more then I'd like to believe'_ he thought.

"Yeah, the guy was a jerk and nobody talks badly about me and my friends so he deserved it" Serenity said, pouring a glass of water and leaning against the counter and taking a sip of the cold water.

"You seriously changed Serenity" Mike said.

"That a bad thing?" Serenity asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not necessarily, you just need to learn to control your temper or else you could really hurt someone" Mike said.

"Yeah, yeah, keep talking like that and I'll hurt you" Serenity said, sitting down on the sofa again and placing the glass on the table in front of her.

"You see what I mean?" Mike asked.

"Yeah I do, now quit complaining" Serenity said, lying back and sticking her tongue out when she saw Mike glaring at her.

They all sat there in silence, sometimes Mike would ask about Serenity and Tala's experiences in the abbey and what they went through while there. They just talked about what life was like in the abbey and how they all began to deal with the way they were living. Almost two hours past and Bryan's bedroom door opened and the doctor walked out. Serenity walked up to the doctor quickly, "How is he?" she asked.

"He should be ok now, I cleaned the wounds again and wrapped them though tighter then usual which would be a bit painful but reduces the blood loss." The young doctor said, placing her medical bag on the floor next to her.

"But what had happened?" Tala asked, walking up behind Serenity.

"The wounds cut open, the gashes were already deep and could easily be cut through and widen. A form of sudden movement could have easily cut them open." The doctor explained. She took a file out of her bag and looked through it, "Blood tests also showed a strange chemical in his blood stream" she said.

"Chemical?" Mike asked.

"Yes. The chemical wouldn't survive for very long in a blood stream but when the blood was tested yesterday night it showed that the chemical was still very strong and so it must have been injected quite recently." The doctor explained as she scanned the documents in the file.

"Can it do any damage to him?" Mike asked, when he noticed that Serenity looked like she wasn't even breathing with all the worry she was feeling.

"The chemical seems harmless as it will just dissolve under the pressure of his blood so it shouldn't affect him; he also has a strong immune system so it shouldn't be affecting him too much. He is in much pain from the wounds but unfortunately I can't give him anything to ease the pain since there is a good chance that it might affect the chemical and make things worse for him" The doctor continued.

"Anything we can do to help?" Serenity asked.

"Just make sure he gets a lot of bed rest and doesn't move too much for the rest of the day." The doctor replied, smiling sweetly at the young Japanese girl in front of her.

"That should be easy" Serenity muttered, "Ok then, thanks for coming on such short notice" she concluded, bowing her head a little.

"Not a problem" The doctor said, picking up her bag and walking out the front door.

"I better go too, you should really question Bryan on the chemical" Mike advised.

"Actually we already know a little about it" Serenity said quietly, frowning a little.

"What do you know?" Mike asked, interested in what they were going to say.

"Boris used to have his scientists and doctors constantly testing things on Bryan, though we didn't know that it had happened recently. He was always with us so we don't know when it could have happened" Serenity said.

"Yeah we do" Tala said, his voice trailing off.

"What do you mean? What does he mean?" Mike said, turning from Tala to Serenity.

Tala started, "Boris had called Bryan away from our room just before dinner, and he wasn't at dinner with us…"

"And he was already asleep by the time we got back from dinner" Serenity said, finally figuring it out. "Which means that scientists had experimented on him a day before we left" she whispered.

"Ok look, all of you stay here and keep an eye on him while I'll go get the warrant" Mike said before racing out the door.

"I can't believe I hadn't noticed it sooner" Serenity said, walking across the living room with her hand on her forehead.

"It's not your fault, you didn't know and neither did I until today" Tala comforted.

"But now he's really hurt" Serenity said.

"Let's just go check up on him and things will just get better" Tala reassured.

Serenity nodded and walked over to Bryan's bedroom door and slowly opened it. They walked inside and saw Bryan lying on his side in bed, his head resting on his arm. Bryan quickly opened his eyes when he heard the door closing behind Tala; he closed his eyes again as if ignoring the other two teenagers. Serenity sat down on a chair that was near bed, "How are you feeling?" Serenity asked.

Bryan had prepared himself for this question from the second the doctor had left the room, "I'm fine" he said in his weak voice.

"Can I get you anything?" Serenity asked kindly.

"No thanks" Bryan replied quietly, pulling the covers tighter around him and moving them higher up his shoulder.

Serenity took his hand and gave it a light squeeze, "Are you sure you're feeling ok?" she asked worriedly.

"Stop worrying cause I'm fine" Bryan replied, opening his eyes and staring up into Serenity's bright blue worried eyes.

"I don't know if you've really heard or even noticed but it isn't Serenity if she doesn't worry" Tala said.

"Shut up" Serenity said, playfully. Bryan laughed a little at the bit of flirting in front of him, Serenity's head turned back to Bryan when she heard the laugh and she smiled, "Wow! I was starting to think that you didn't know how to laugh" she said, laughing. Bryan stopped laughing and narrowed her eyes at Serenity at her stupid comment. He closed his eyes again and shifted his position in bed a little, Serenity saw that he was tired and got off the chair, "We'll leave you to get some rest, call me if you need me" she told him before letting go of his hand.

Serenity and Tala walked out of the room to let Bryan get some rest. They both walked to Serenity's room and she gave him a white top of Mike's, telling Tala that he could use her bathroom to have a shower and change. She lay resting on her bed and when Tala came back out she went in to the bathroom to have a shower and to change. She walked out a few minutes later in a white silk dressing gown that went above her knees. She tossed her clothes onto a chair and looked around the room but didn't see Tala anywhere. She opened her bedroom door and looked out to see if he was in the living room but no one was there. She closed the door and then pulled aside the blue curtains from the balcony glass and looked outside onto her large balcony that overlooked the sea.

Light drops of rain fell from the dark sky and Tala stood leaning against the railings in the light rain that fell on his back. Serenity slid the door open and Tala turned round quickly to look at her then turned back to looking at the raging sea when he saw who it was. Serenity walked up to him and leaned against the railings next to him and turned her head to look at him. She felt a cold wind blow and it started to rain a little harder, she then took Tala's hand and kissed it softly. "Come on, let's go inside" she said.

Serenity let go of his hand and walked back inside her room and turned back to see Tala still staring out at the sea. She sighed a little and sat on her bed, _'I don't have the heart to pull him away right now' _

'_But Mistress the weather is getting worse, you should bring him inside or else he'll get sick' _Luna advised kindly.

'_I know but he always needed sometime to think by himself and now I don't want to have to come in here and deal with me if he doesn't want to' _Serenity fought back.

'_Whatever you say Mistress' _Luna replied before disappearing from Serenity's mind.

Serenity sighed when rain fell harder from the cloudy sky, she got up and walked to the balcony door and opened it again. She then called for Tala from there so as not to get wet. Tala turned round and walked to Serenity and stepped inside and Serenity closed the door behind him. Tala pulled his wet top off over his head and Serenity handed him a towel and he quickly dried himself off a little. Serenity took the towel from him and placed it on the chair, she walked up to him and placed her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek softly. "What's wrong?" she asked, pulling away a little.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm having trouble thinking straight at the moment but don't worry" Tala replied, dropping his hands down to her waist and looking down into her beautiful bright blue eyes that looked up into him with worry. He was even scared when he said that because then she might ask what it was that was upsetting him but even if he was really true to himself then he still didn't know what it was that was bothering him.

"Are you going to be ok?" Serenity asked, moving her arms down to his shoulders.

"Yeah, I'll be fine now" Tala replied, nodding.

"Are you sure?" Serenity asked again, moving a strand of red hair away from his face.

"Yeah, I'm sure" Tala assured, kissing her softly on her cheek.

Serenity moved his head a little and made him look into her eyes; she leaned closer into him and kissed him passionately on the lips. She moved her hand up to his cheek and stroked it softly. Tala leaned against the wall and pulled Serenity a little closer to him; Serenity pulled away a little and kissed his neck a little, kissing further down his neck and on his chest. She kissed him on his shoulder a little and then gave him another long passionate kiss on the lips and pulling away a little. She smiled a little at him and gently stroked his shoulder in a soothing manner. "Come on, lets go get something to eat" she said, taking his hand and walking out the door.

Tala sat down on the sofa while Serenity made them sandwiches for dinner. She handed Tala a plate with a sandwich and she sat next to him and they both ate quietly. When they were both done Serenity took Tala's plate and took them both into the kitchen before taking Bryan some food and telling Tala to go to bed in her room. Serenity walked quietly into Bryan's bedroom when she noticed that he was still asleep, she placed the plate of food on the bed side table and knelt down on the floor next to Bryan's bed. She took his hand and Bryan's eyes shot open, startling Serenity and making her fall back a little. "How are you feeling?" she asked, regaining her balance.

"Exhausted but fine" Bryan replied weakly, letting a measure of weakness show through his voice and his tired eyes.

"Any pain?" Serenity asked, pulling the blanket higher up his shoulder.

Bryan groaned and turned gently on his back, "Don't even get me started" he said.

"What are you feeling?" Serenity asked.

"A headache and the wounds are burning a little" Bryan whispered, trying to shift the pillow behind his head a little.

Serenity helped him shift the pillow into a more comfortable position, "Do you mind?" she asked, pointing to his bandaged stomach and chest.

Bryan shrugged a little, "It's not like I can fight you off" he replied.

"Don't think like that, I only want to help you" Serenity said.

"Still, go ahead" Bryan told her again.

"You going to be ok?" Serenity asked, sitting up near him on the bed. Bryan nodded before closing his eyes, wincing a little at the sudden movement of his head. Serenity placed her hand gently on the thick bandages and lightly placed her finger under one of the white bandages and then slowly slipped it back out again. "There's no bleeding thankfully" she informed him gently. "I really wish I could do something to ease the pain" she said.

"You could stop talking" Bryan said.

Serenity smiled a little and held back a laugh, "Ok then I'll shut up. First you should eat something and then you should continue resting" she advised kindly.

"I thought you said you were going to shut up" Bryan said, smirking a little at his sudden comment.

"Ok, ok. Good night sweetie" Serenity said, taking his hand again and giving it a light squeeze before letting go and walking out of the room.

Serenity walked back to her room, closing the door behind her. Tala lay in bed with his hands behind his head, Serenity smiled kindly at him and walked over to her bed and lay under the silk covers. She moved closely to Tala and placed an arm across his waist and looked up at him to see him with his eyes closed. Serenity kissed Tala's shoulder softly and quickly on the lips, gaining his attention. Tala pulled an arm around Serenity, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. Serenity notices the bruise still on his stomach and slowly made light circles over the bruised skin with her index finger. Tala winced a little and Serenity looked up a little, "That still hurts?" she asked softly.

"A little" Tala replied, resting his head back and closing his eyes again.

Serenity rested her head back onto his shoulder and kissed it softly before getting off and laying her head back on her pillow. She slept quickly, her weak state draining her of energy especially with worrying all day. She had woken up again in the middle of the night and saw Tala tremble at times and she pulled the covers tighter around him and moved closer to him, her chest resting against his back, she slept again in very little time.

**---Next Morning---**

Serenity started to stir a little and she turned lazily on her back, stretching her arms and rubbing the sleep out of her tired eyes. She slowly sat up a little and looked around the room, no one was there but she saw a single red rose on her bedside table. She picked it up and held it in her hand and felt around on the soft red petals and smelt the beautiful fresh smell. She got out of bed and took a small vase from the dressing table and went to the bathroom and filled it with some water and placed the rose in it and placed it back on her bedside table. She opened her wardrobe to get some clothes out but remembered that all her clothes were far too small for her. She sighed and picked up her skirt and top from the chair and went to the bathroom for a cold shower. She changed into her clothes that fit her thin body perfectly and then she sat on the chair to put on her boots.

She got up and walked out of her bedroom and into the living room, she saw Tala already there and sitting on the sofa just flipping the channels. Serenity smiled and jumped onto the sofa next to him, she latched her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "What was that for?" Tala asked, smiling when Serenity jumped into his arms and kissed him.

"For being so sweet to me" Serenity whispered back, moving off Tala and sitting close to him. She got up and walked to the kitchen, "Do you want anything for breakfast?" she asked.

"No thanks" Tala replied, switching off the TV and looking at her from the sofa.

"Oh come on, we're finally out of the abbey so why wont you eat anything?" Serenity asked.

"I don't know, I'm probably not used to eating so much that I cant eat too much now" Tala replied.

"Well whatever the reason we're all too thin for our own good and I'd love to have a good breakfast after all these years" Serenity said, taking an apple from the fruit basket and taking a bite out of it.

"Well I'm not hungry at the moment so you don't need to worry about that" Tala reassured her, laughing a little at the end.

"I'll take some food to Bryan, any idea if he's awake?" Serenity asked, picking up another apple and pouring a glass of water.

"Yeah he was already awake when I woke up" Tala replied.

Serenity took the glass of water and the apple to Bryan's room and put them on the bedside table. Bryan just lay on his back, staring at the ceiling boringly as he had nothing to do and nowhere to go. Serenity out in laughter at the bored expression on his features, the face that always looked so strong and so uninterested in the things around that now just seeing him bored couldn't stop Serenity from laughing. "What do you think is so funny?" Bryan asked angrily, looking up at Serenity and glaring at her but Serenity still had trouble stopping.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I just can't help but see you so bored for once in your life" Serenity said, slowing down her laughter a little and holding more laughs that threatened to escape.

"Can you really blame me? I'm fed up of being here and stuck in bed" Bryan said, pounding his fists on the bed in frustration.

"No I can't but you have to rest and stay in bed or things could get worse so just have patience for a little while longer" Serenity said, sitting next to him on the bed. Bryan sighed and shut his eyes in frustration, "OK lets do this, if you stay in bed a little longer then I'll take you out of the room for a while and as soon as you're up for it I'll find someone powerful to battle you, deal?" she bargained.

Bryan opened his hardened eyes, still looking frustrated but this time he was desperate to do something, "Deal" he said, finally giving in.

"Good, I'll be in the next room if you need me" Serenity said, getting off the bed and leaving for the next room.

"I bet he complained" Tala said, looking up at Serenity when she walked into the living room again.

"Yeah but I made a deal with him that if he would stay there a little longer then I'll let him out a little later" Serenity said, sitting down on the sofa next to him.

"That's a risk even for you" Tala said, smirking.

"Yeah well even I can make risks" Serenity said, laughing and then poking him in the chest, "As if you wouldn't know" she added.

"So how are you feeling?" Tala asked.

"I'm ok, I keep feeling a little tired sometimes but I'm fine" Serenity said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Tala smiled, "That's good to hear" he said.

"Yeah well, I think I should go get Bryan or else we'll be hearing something that isn't so good to hear from him" Serenity said, getting off the sofa again.

"I guess you're right" Tala said, laughing a little at Serenity's comment.

Serenity opened the door to Bryan's room and stepped inside, "Come on grumpy you can come out now" she said. Bryan whispered a thank you and quickly pushed himself up into a sitting position and pushed himself out of bed. "You ok over there?" Serenity asked, leaning against the wall by the door. It seemed pointless to her to go and help him since she knew that even though he started trusting her she knew that he wouldn't accept her to help him walk but now he seemed to be fine.

"I'm fine" Bryan replied, grabbing his black top from the chair and pulling it over his head. He walked out the bedroom door, followed by Serenity that kept an eye on him in case he fell or was in pain. Bryan sat down in an armchair and rubbed his sore neck, _'Feels so good to be out of the bloody bed' _he thought, almost deciding to whisper it.

"So how are you feeling?" Tala asked, sitting back in his seat.

"Tired" Bryan replied simply.

"Maybe you wouldn't be so tired if you would have told us about all this sooner" Tala said through gritted teeth.

"Tala" Serenity whispered in a warning tone.

"No way, I want hear his excuse for not telling us sooner" Tala told her. Tala turned to look at Bryan again and glared at him angrily, "The day before you left the abbey Boris called for you, had his scientists experimented on you?" he asked.

"Tala is as stubborn as I am so you might as well answer the question" Serenity advised.

"I don't have to take this from you" Bryan said, pushing himself out of the chair and walking to his room.

Tala rushed up and stood in his way, glaring coldly at the younger blader, "You're not going anywhere until you tell us, did they or didn't they experiment on you the day before we left the abbey?" he asked coldly again.

"Yes, they did. Now please tell me what difference does it make to you?" Bryan yelled. Finally the pain grew in him and he felt light headed from the yelling and grabbed the edge a table that was by the door. Serenity walked up behind Bryan when she saw him about to fall but kept out of the argument.

"It makes a big difference. You should have told us earlier about it and we could have helped you but need to let us help you" Tala yelled back.

"I know, I can't take it on my own but I made a mistake. It was my mistake that I didn't tell you, I know that I should have told you but I didn't. I'm sorry I didn't trust you" Bryan yelled back.

"Took you long enough to admit it" Tala commented.

"Relax" Serenity said, placing her hand on Bryan's shoulder.

"Any idea what they were testing on you?" Tala asked.

Bryan turned round and walked back to the chair and sat forward in his seat, his arms resting on his knees, "I don't know what it was that they were using but they just used a shot and all I could say is that I couldn't feel, my skin went numb and I just felt like passing out. They didn't do much but they just injected different chemicals in me. When they were done I felt far to weak to even go down to dinner so I just went back to my room and passed out" he explained, choking back tears at times.

'_So when we got back to our room he hadn't been sleeping he had passed out' _Tala thought.

"How'd they inject it into you?" Serenity asked, sitting down on the arm of the chair he sat on. Bryan lifted the sleeve of his black top, first pointing to ten tiny pierced dots in his pulse and then lifting his sleeve up higher to show them a small bruise with another red blood spot in the centre. He pulled the sleeve down quickly and then sighed. Serenity gently rubbed his back soothingly and moved he hand up to his shoulder, "You ok now?" she asked.

"Yeah I'm fine now" Bryan replied. He looked up at Tala again, "I'm sorry for not telling you earlier but I…"

"Forget it, I understand but next time tell us when something is wrong" Tala cut in.

"Sure" Bryan said.

**A/N: **I give this the 'Most Boring Chapter Ever Award' This was a very uninteresting chapter and for that please forgive me. Please review anyway even though I know that this chapter sucked big time. Please review, reviews keep me sane! Please review!


	12. Two New Girls

**A/N: **Ok this is the next chapter but I have a couple of questions I need to answer and a review from Ray-Tiger-Cat that I'd like to answer too. Ok this first review I got from her was from chapter 10 but I forgot to answer before cause my hotmail was a little messed up and got it a day after I put up chapter 11.

**Ray-Tiger-Cat's Review for Chapter 10: **I totally forgot to review this fic! I was in a rush and didn't have time when I read this. I meant to come back and review. I didn't even realise my mistake yesterday when I was talking to you. I would think that Tala would be nervous about docs too, cause he was abused a lot. I'm glad Sereinty is not pregie cause I didn't want to read about her giving birth or something. Are they really free from the abbey or are they going to be recaptured?

**Answer: **First off no problem about reviewing late. Secondly I'm glad you're ok about Serenity not being pregnant since I thought my reviewers would kill me but don't worry cause even if she was pregnant then I wouldn't write out the whole birth scene so don't worry cause even I'm not that good at writing, besides by the end of the scene I'd probably be sick so I wouldn't write it out. Third of all, I was thinking about having them recaptured but I have a better idea since the idea of being recaptured is so predictable that even you came up with it and I don't like being predictable. According to my friends and readers my fic has a lot of 'twists' so I don't think they'll be recaptured but with me being the queen of twists you'll have to wait and see or in this case read.

**Part of Silvan-Arrows Reiew for Chapter 11: **Well, we certainly can't have you losing your sanity over a lack of reviews, now can we?

**Answer: **No you can't because if you do then I won't update!

**Ray-Tiger-Cat's Review for Chapter 11: **Awe, it was boring; you're being too hard on yourself. Are you going to kiil Byran? You mentioned that someone would die, so that's why I'm asking.(yeah, I remeber that the gusrd already died, but there could be more, right?) Are we nearing the end of the fic? You've been updating a lot latly, so I'm starting to think something's up. I know I haven't voted for the next fic yet,but hopefully I'll read the stuff on your profile and answer soon, k?

**Answer: **I told you it was boring didn't I? I had this conversation with Demi-Goddess earlier this week when I told her I would kill Bryan and she almost skinned me alive so for both my sake and Bryan's I don't think I'll kill him. I was thinking of killing Boris and I just might so apart from him I don't think I'll kill anyone but then there are sequels for a reason right?

**Mythicalspirit14's Review for Chapter 11: **Very nice chapter whether it was a little boring or not it was well writen! I was woundering r u going to put a paring for Bryan in this story? well plz update soon!  
MS14

**Answer: **I also talked to Demi-Goddess about this and when I put the votes together there was a draw since some people said yes, some people said no and some didn't bother to tell me so sorry to the people who said no but yes he will be paired up.

**Chapter 12**

After a while, the conversation changed quickly to a lighter subject. All three teenagers sat in the living room just talking about nothing in particular. The phone on the table rang and Serenity reached out and hit a button on the black receiver. "Hello?" she said, sitting back in her seat.

"Hey Serenity" Mike said on the loud speaker.

"There's no need to shout you're on loud speaker so we can all hear you" Bryan called from his seat.

"Ok then, guess what I just got" Mike said.

"A girlfriend?" Serenity asked jokingly.

"Haha, very funny my little comedian but I just got the warrant" Mike said, not even laughing at Serenity's so called joke.

"Really? That's great" Serenity said excitedly.

"Yeah, my team and I leave for Russia in about two hours" Mike informed.

"Well that's good" Tala said from his place near Serenity.

"Make sure you call us when you get there and keep us informed" Serenity said.

"Sure, I'll call you when we get there" Mike said.

"OK bye then" Serenity said before hitting the button again.

"I hate feeling so helpless like this" Bryan whispered.

"I know what you mean" Serenity said.

"So what do we do now?" Tala asked.

"Nothing much that we can do" Serenity said. Suddenly her eyes lit up, "How about we go for a walk, it would be good for all of us" she suggested.

"Why not" Tala said, getting off the sofa. "You coming?" he asked Bryan.

"Any reason to get out of here for a while" Bryan said, getting up as quickly as he could in his state.

They left the house quickly and walked along the streets. Stopping when an old friend of Serenity's recognized her and stopped to talk to her for a while. Serenity was never quite able to explain to any of them where she had been over the years but it gave her a nice feeling that they even noticed that she was missing from Japan, since she was quite well known to the people in the area and when they didn't see her around they had apparently gotten worried. They walked for a little while longer till Serenity winced when she noticed someone but just walked past her. "Oh my God, Serenity is that you?" A female voice asked from behind them.

Serenity winced harder but put on her usual cold façade and turned round, letting go of Tala's hand. She looked at the girl in front of her and she grew spitefully at her and disgusted. The girl was just about two years younger then her, her hair fell over her shoulders and was a dark shade of purple and had dark red eyes that looked at Serenity with hate in them. "Hello little sister" Serenity said, cold rushing through her voice. Bryan and Tala flinched and Tala balled his fists; he had heard from Serenity about all the things her sister used to say about her and he hated it and now it took every piece of him to keep himself from punching her in the face.

"So at least after all your years of running you finally decided to stop and come back" The girl mocked, "You really are a coward Selene" she said, mocking Serenity further.

"Shut up, who are you to even call me that?" Serenity shot back, her voice echoing through the empty streets.

"Why shouldn't I, you always claimed it was your name along with the stupid comments like 'I remember my mother dieing' or something of the sort" The girl continued.

"Oh shut up would you please" Serenity yelled.

The girl crossed her arms and leaned back a bit, "So how far did you run Serenity?" she asked.

"I never ran intentionally, actually I didn't want to run but fate pulls us in different directions" Serenity said.

"Oh yes that lovely idea you have of fate" The girl mocked.

"So Druscilla, have you finally learnt how to launch a blade without me?" Serenity asked.

The girl looked frustrated now, "Of course I can and I'm far better then you now" she said.

"Really? Then why don't you launch your blade at me, I won't move I swear" Serenity said, smirking as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Serenity, Death bad life good" Tala told Serenity, knowing full well that Serenity wouldn't move if she had promised her sister that.

"Oh please, this bimbo couldn't hit the broadside of a beauty parlour, I mean look at that dye job" Serenity replied mockingly toward Drucsilla.

"You little bitch" Druscilla said, "How dare you?" she yelled in anger.

"How dare I? I'm not the one with the dye job from hell" Serenity said laughing.

Druscilla saw Tala and Bryan laughing behind Serenity and looked at them in anger, "Who do you think you are? Do you know who I am?" she asked, yelling at them angrily.

"Yeah you're Serenity's grumpy little sister" Tala said, walking closer to Serenity and holding back laughs.

"Oh please, what has Serenity done to get you both onto her side?" Druscilla asked.

"She's just herself and not some stuck up little girl who wears too much make-up" Tala replied.

"Well at least I'm not dressed up like a cold hearted freak" Drucsilla said, referring to Serenity's short skirt, strapless black top and boots.

"As if what you're wearing is any better" Bryan commented after noticing the girl's attire. She was wearing an extremely short denim skirt and a pink top that exposed her midriff and slender stomach, she then wore high heel sandals and held a pale blue hand bag on her shoulder and held onto the strap. So yeah Serenity did look more cold hearted then she really was but to Bryan, this girl was no better especially with her snobbish attitude and grudge against Serenity.

"Why even care for her I'm the one with power" Druscilla said.

"We grew up around power, she doesn't need yours" Tala said, laughing when Druscilla kept changing subject to find a strong point in herself.

"Please tell me you don't mean Luna, she couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag" Druscilla said, laughing.

Now Serenity was furious, Druscilla had mocked her and she was able to keep her anger under control then but now Druscilla mocked her bit-0beast, her loyal friend and this ticked her off, "Just shut up, you're just jealous, you always new that Luna was dad's favourite and that I deserved her because of my destiny but you just cant accept that. You always thought that because you were mother's favourite that you would get everything you wanted but I'm sorry but just because I'm having a better life now it doesn't mean you have to bring me down" she yelled angrily. "Let's see how much better then me you are at blading shall we?" she said, challenging Druscilla more then asking her.

"Well fighting you shouldn't be too hard, I'll fight two of you" Druscilla said, taking out her pink blade and launcher from her hand bag.

"That's good cause I need a battle" Tala said, taking out his own blade and launcher.

"Actually I want Bryan to battle with me" Serenity said, loading her blade onto her launcher.

"What? Why?" Tala asked.

"Because I promised him a battle and I never go back on my word." Serenity replied. She turned back to Bryan and looked rather disappointed, "I know I promised you a _good_ battle but you're going to have to settle for the creep with the tacky purse" she said, pointing over her shoulder to Druscilla.

"Don't you ever think that maybe you're too competitive?" Druscilla asked.

"Don't you ever think that you have an extraordinarily large ego?" Tala asked, stepping away from them.

"And an extraordinarily large nose?" Serenity added, laughing as she set into a good position.

"Let's just battle" Druscilla said.

**---An Hour Later---**

All three teenagers walked back into Serenity's apartment laughing. They all sat on the sofa, still laughing a little, "That was such an easy win" Serenity said.

"Yeah we practically did nothing" Bryan said.

"Did you see the look on her face when her attack ring broke? It was priceless" Tala said.

"Yeah it really was fun to see but I don't think you should have gone so far Bryan" Serenity said, seeming rather disappointed.

"Come on you can't say that you didn't enjoy it" Bryan told her.

Serenity smiled again, "Of course I enjoyed it, it was the highlight of the day" she said. The phone rang and Serenity hit the loud speaker button, "Mike?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah listen things are horrible here" Mike said. They all heard a loud crash and Mike's phone hit the floor.

"Mike what's wrong?" Serenity asked worriedly.

"We showed Boris the warrant to search the place and he obviously wasn't very happy about it which was our first hint that something was wrong" Mike said, pausing for a second.

"Found anything yet?" Tala asked.

"Well for starters we found kids training in the ice cold which wasn't something good on Boris' behalf. The kids found out there were taken by the paramedics at the moment and they seemed to find a lot of marks in the first five minutes. From what we found Boris goes to the nearest jail from here but we need to know if there are any hidden places you know about that could lead us to more" Mike explained.

"Well they're hidden places so we don't really know too much" Serenity said, "But we know there are labs under the main level and the abbey keeps on going for about two levels below the first one" she said.

"Yeah we got there and we're still looking around so I'll call you back when we get more on the situation" Mike said.

"Ok thanks" Serenity said before hitting the button again when she noticed that Mike had hung up.

"As usual we're left to do nothing?" Tala asked in frustration.

"I guess so" Bryan muttered.

"I hate it when he leaves us like this. We should be there helping them out, it's better then being stuck here" Serenity said.

"Yeah but this is probably the safest place right now" Tala said.

"Let's just order something to eat and just hope that Mike calls back with some more good news" Serenity said, picking up the phone.

**---With Mike---**

Mike walked through a deserted part of the abbey and took the stairs to the lower level. He walked through the empty halls and walked into a room, switching on the light he looked inside but found nothing apart from some machines. He kept on walking and switched on the light to another room but found that the bulb had somehow been shattered. He took out a small torch from his jacket pocket and switched it on and scanned the dark room, he suddenly gasped and stepped back out of the room. "Someone call the paramedics" he yelled through the hall.

**---Back With The Others- 2hours later---**

Everyone had gone to their rooms to get some rest after lunch. They all decided to get some rest for the main reason that there really wasn't much to do at the time, they hadn't heard from Mike since he had called when they got back from the walk and they all thought that something was wrong. Serenity and Tala walked out of their room and saw Bryan sitting on the sofa again, "Bored too huh?" Tala asked.

"Yeah, there is nothing to do here" Bryan replied.

"We're all bored, there is nothing to do and I can't think of anything that we can do" Serenity said, leaning against the arm chair. The phone rang again and this time Bryan was the first to hit the button on the phone, "Yeah Mike, what's happening there?" she asked.

"A lot, the hospital is filled with kids now" Mike said, walking through the halls of the hospital.

"Are they all ok?" Tala asked.

"Well…we had a problem with two of the youngest ones" Mike replied hesitantly.

"What kind of problems?" Bryan asked.

"DOA" Mike replied simply. **(A/N: DOA-Dead On Arrival) **

"Oh no" Serenity whispered, "And how are the others?" she asked.

"They're ok but didn't you say that you were the only girl in the abbey?" Mike asked, walking into a large hospital room.

"Yeah, I've been the only girl there in the last six years" Serenity confirmed, a little confused as to why he was asking. "Why do you ask?" she asked curiously.

"Because another girl was found, three floors lower then the original entrance level" Mike said.

"Describe her" Tala said.

"There isn't much I can really tell you, she has long pale light blue hair and as for her clothes I cant really say, she was covered in blood when I found her" Mike said.

"Is she ok?" Serenity asked.

"Not even close, she had been beaten badly; no body knows how long she's been down there. We questioned as many kids on her as we could but no one knew who she was." Mike said, looking over at the body in the hospital bed.

"But I do" Bryan whispered, his eyes widening when he finally remembered the younger girl.

"What do you mean?" Serenity asked.

"Did I hear right?" Mike asked.

"She's a couple of years younger then me, she was at the abbey with me when I was much younger but she seemed to disappear after a while and I guess I just forgot about her" Bryan explained, avoiding everyone's looks.

"How is she now?" Serenity asked Mike, changing the subject off of Bryan.

"Currently in a coma, we were really lucky we found her in time but we still don't know if she's going to make it. She lost a lot of blood and she had been down there for very long so no one even knew that she was hurt" Mike informed, picking up the cold hand of the young girl. "Look I have to go check up on all the other kids, I'll call you back in about an hour" he said before hanging up.

Serenity switched off the phone and looked back up at Bryan who sighed painfully. She looked at him worriedly as he stared at the ground, "You ok?" she asked.

"Just fine" Bryan replied, not looking up at them, hiding the tears that formed in his eyes.

"I think we've believed that one too many times" Tala said, sitting down next to Serenity.

Bryan lifted his head to look at them, his eyes already seeming a little red and still filled with some unshed tears, "What do you know about her?" Serenity asked, softening when she saw Bryan showing them a small measure of what he had called weakness.

"I can't remember her too much, it's like my mind was erased of all her memories" Bryan replied.

"Don't worry, just tell us what you know and can remember" Serenity said.

"Her name is Karina and if I'm calculating right she's about thirteen now and she was the first girl in the abbey. She was my room mate for a while but then Boris put her into a room by herself so I didn't get to see her as much. She never knew her family since she was at the abbey from about five years old; she was a shy girl and was never quite confident in herself. She was an honest girl and was kind to everyone but when she got mad it was one hell of a war there." Bryan explained, almost in a daze and avoiding everyone's gazes.

Serenity looked at him strangely and raised an eyebrow, "For someone to have claimed he forgot her you sure described her well" she said.

"Yeah and this girl sounds a lot like Serenity if you ask me" Tala commented.

"How could I have forgotten her so easily?" Bryan whispered.

"Maybe Boris did something to you to make you forget about her or maybe it was the side affect of an experiment" Serenity suggested.

"Maybe but I don't know" Bryan whispered.

"Maybe we can get Mike to bring Karina here" Tala suggested.

"What? Why?" Bryan asked.

"He's right, it would be a good idea, if she's in a coma then she could hear and feel all that is happening around her so maybe if she hears you then she'll wake up" Serenity continued.

"It's a crazy idea but it might work" Tala added.

"Maybe" Bryan whispered.

**A/N: **Ok what did you think? I hope you liked it and this chapter made up for the other chapter which was very uninteresting. A special thanks to Demi-Goddess-Queen Of OCs for creating Karina, even though I know she only did it to be paired up with Bryan but thanks for her help anyway since she really helped me out in this chapter. I'm just kidding, I know that Demi did it to help me cause I had asked her to. I knew she liked Bryan so when it came to creating the OC for him who else to ask but the Queen Of OCs, she really helped out in this chapter so a huge thanks to Demi-Goddess since she really helped me out. Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter and please review this one. I'll try to update as soon as I can but please be patient with me.


	13. Worry

**Chapter 13**

All three teenagers had dinner in silence. Serenity had sensed earlier that Bryan still seemed upset for forgetting about Karina but she couldn't convince him that it wasn't his fault. Mike had called about an hour after their last conversation and they had told him to bring Karina to the apartment. Mike clearly hadn't been happy about it but said that he would ask a doctor if it was safe enough to move Karina out of the hospital.

Luckily, Karina was well enough to be moved from the hospital in Russia to Serenity's apartment in Japan, on the condition that a doctor came every day in the after noon to check on Karina. They all went to their rooms after dinner to get seem sleep after the long day. It was amazing to think that the day had started out as the most boring day of their lives and turned out to be the most hectic day they had in what felt like ages.

Mike and Karina would be on the earliest flight from Russia, they had calculated that they'd arrive at about eleven the next morning. Serenity and Tala had lain awake in bed just talking about stuff, nothing in particular but just stuff. They remembered that when they were younger they used to just lie in bed together and talk about whatever came to mind and they missed that. Moreover Tala had actually missed that a lot and apparently it was something that had been upsetting him in a while, he hated that they had lost all their innocence and didn't used to do all they did when they were younger. They didn't do the things that made them fall in love anymore, it's like all they had done when they were younger didn't exist, and they were too mature now.

**---Next Morning---**

Serenity and Tala walked out of their bedroom to find Bryan already sitting on the sofa in the leaving room. Bryan was just staring at the ground and both Tala and Serenity looked at him strangely while Serenity went into the kitchen to get a fruit for her breakfast and Tala while he sat down opposite Bryan. "Hey are you ok over there?" Tala asked.

Bryan looked up quickly, "Oh yeah, I'm fine" he said.

"I don't think so" Serenity said, walking over to him and handing him a glass of water.

"Am I that obvious?" Bryan asked before taking a sip of cold water. Serenity sat down on the arm of the chair that Tala was sitting on and with a look that told him to tell them everything, "I'm just scared" he whispered.

"Finally we find that you're afraid of something" Tala said, earning himself a hit upside the head from Serenity.

"What are you scared of?" Serenity asked Bryan.

"I haven't seen Karina in years and I don't know how she is now and I'm worried, if I had never forgotten about her then she wouldn't be hurt" Bryan said, his eyes fixed to the ground again.

"You tow must have been very close" Serenity said, smiling a little though still feeling disappointed, probably she was happy because Bryan seemed to care a lot for Karina but she also was disappointed because she hated to see him so upset.

"I wouldn't say close, but something in me just doesn't want to see her hurt" Bryan said, still not bothering to look at any of them.

"Well Mike will be bringing her here soon since it's already ten" Tala said.

**---2 Hours Later---**

Mike still hadn't arrived with Karina yet but had called a few minutes before telling them that there was a delay in their flight and that they should be arriving soon. Bryan still sat nervously on the sofa and Tala walked up behind him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, making Bryan look back at him. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be fine and you will too" he told him.

"Thanks" Bryan said, nodding.

A few minutes later the door bell rang and they all went to the door and Serenity opened it quickly. "Where can we take her?" Mike asked Serenity.

"You can put her in my room" Bryan volunteered, pointing to his bedroom door.

Mike nodded and two other people took a stretcher with a beautiful young girl on it into Bryan's room. Bryan was about to rush forward when he saw Karina in the stretcher move past him and his heart stopped for a second and he was about to step forward to get closer to her lifeless body but someone grabbed his forearm tightly, stopping him. He turned round quickly and saw Tala with his grip increasing on his forearm before slowly loosening. Serenity walked over to Bryan who continued staring at the room where Karina was being kept and sighed painfully.

Serenity wrapped her arms around him and moved him to the sofa again, she made him sit down and she sat on the wooden table that was in front of him. She gently slid away a strand of lilac hair that shadowed his eyes a little and leaned forward, "Now you see why I worry? The way you are feeling right now is worry and that's how I feel when I see you like this so just relax a little and you'll be able to see her soon" she said, smiling sweetly at the younger blader.

A few hours later the two people who brought Karina in left and Mike went to find himself a hotel to stay in while he was in Japan since Serenity's apartment was full and had never kept so many people in it. Bryan had practically run to see Karina and had been sitting by her side for a while. After about an hour of him being in there, Serenity walked into Bryan's room and saw him just sitting there, his forearms resting on his legs as he just watched her from a distance. Serenity walked back out again and sighed, "I'll be in my room" she aid.

Tala nodded and watched her as she walked into her room and close the door behind her. Tala waited a while and then walked into Bryan's room and walked up behind him, "You're not doing any good like that" he told her.

"I'm here aren't I?" Bryan said, looking up at the taller blader.

Tala sighed and grabbed Bryan's hand gently, Bryan fought in his grip a little but soon loosened up a bit and Tala placed Bryan's hand on Karina's cold one that limply on the bed. Bryan felt the cold rush through him, heat growing in him; he then felt the heat slowly transmitting into Karina's hand which suddenly felt warm because of his body heat. Tala moved his hand off of theirs and crossed his arms again, "Now she knows you're here" Tala said. Bryan looked up at him strangely, "Talk to her, she can hear you" he said. Turning on his heal he left the room quickly and walked into his room here Serenity lay in bed. Tala walked over to her and sat on the bed next to her resting form and placed a hand on her side and rubbed it softly adding warmth to her.

Serenity opened her eyes and looked up at Tala and turned on her back and stretched her arms a little. She smiled lightly and sat up a little, Tala pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly on the cheek, "I'm really sorry for yelling in front of you the other day, I didn't mean to honestly" he whispered, his voice really sounding apologetic towards her.

"It's ok, it was your way of dealing with the worry" Serenity whispered back, her fingers gently entwining through his red hair. She gently kissed his neck a few times and just rested her head against his shoulder. He moved his hands down to her waist and kissed her softly on the cheek again. Serenity pulled away from him a little to look into his eyes and she kissed him on the tip of his nose lightly.

Tala smiled and picked her up bridal style and took her over to the balcony and opened the door with one hand and carried her outside into the cold salty night air and set her on a chair. "Why did you bring me out here?" Serenity asked.

Tala shrugged a little and walked over the railings, "I just enjoy it out here and thought…that you'd enjoy it with me" he said.

Serenity smiled and pushed herself off the chair and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I'd love to" she whispered. She kissed him softly on the lips, trailing butterfly-kisses down his neck and then she leaned against the railings. Tala wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close to him, letting her rest her back against his chest as they watched the sun setting over the sea of reds and oranges.

**A/N: **So how was that? Short I know but the fic is ending in about three of four more chapters so they'll be slightly shorter then usual. I decided to put this chapter up now since I'm not sure when I'll have the next one up but hopefully it will be up within the next three days. I put up the first chapter of Angel Of Neglect so please read and review that cause I need to know if it is good enough to continue, if I don't get at least four reviews then I wont update for a long time so you better get reviewing. Bye for now!

P.S If you haven't reviewed last chapter then please review it separate to this one since last chapter was filled with stuff to comment on so I need your opinion on that one most importantly. Bye!


	14. I Love You

**A/N: **Hey everyone, how are you all? Well I hope you're all ok. This is the next chapter of Childhood Hell but first I have an important note and complaint. Today I received a flamer from someone named 'Respect' and this is the 'review' and all that needs to be said on it. My friend Demi-Goddess – Queen Of OCs had something to say too.

**Respect's Review:** Sucks, girls can't go to the abbey, is either for boys or girls, not both, done to what they believe. Please respect others religions and get some culture, go to school.

Respect: Listen, whoever you are. You are the person who needs to go to school.

So, you think that only boys can go to an Abbey? So that must mean you think only girls can go to a convent? Well, let me tell you; I go to a convent school. Next door is an actual convent and there are a few male priests there who live with the nuns. And also, we allow boys into our sixth form. We are a strict catholic school so try telling me that we disrespect cultures.

And also: THIS IS A FANFICTION. Meaning: Authors can do the hell they want. If Phoenix wants to put a girl in the Abbey, she can put a girl in the Abbey. She wants to turn a canon character into little kid, she can do so.

To the next point: how does this disrespect others cultures? Yeah sure, most of the people in the world are Christians, therefore don't really mind about there being an Abbey in an anime, but even children from other religions (e.g. - Islam) watch it and don't get offended by the fact they didn't have a building from their faith in there. And plus: The Abbey isn't an actual Abbey, even in Beyblade. Would a place of God experiment on kids? Hm?

In the summary, it states VERY clearly that in this fic, there will be a girl in the Abbey. What's the point in reading it if you don't like these types of fics? It's the same with yaoi; people put a warning in their summary. And about that religion point you had: it's against the laws in most religions, even Christianity, but I still read/write it! And even if you just said this to make a point; why the hell did you do it? It's very downgrading to authors.

Next time, Bustah, leave a contact detail and don't be a chicken. The only person who needs to go to school is you, because I was barely able to read that 'review' because of poor Grammar. The only one disrespecting here is you, because it's people like you who clog up the fan fiction world with your stupid 'opinions'; I bet quite a few of people who are reading this will agree with me.

If you wish to exchange tedious insults, just come get me, Bustah. I'm not fighting for Phoenix. I'm fighting for my own views, which I stick by when they're contradicted mindlessly. But I guess in this case, I'm fighting for both.

**Demi-goddess **

There you go; Demi-Goddess my good friend said it all. Besides what good is a flamer? It just helps me boil my pasta on a Saturday night. And another little point is this, if you're going to give someone a bad review could you at east have some respect and say one nice thing? I came this far through the story without complaints so how is it that now because I'm to the end of the fic I'm going to get a flamer? It made no sense.

Anyway I think Demi-Goddess already made the point. So I better not keep you all waiting any longer and just get on with the chapter.

**Chapter 14**

The sun finally set and Tala and Serenity walked back into their room. They then went to the living room to order something for dinner, only to find Mike sitting on the sofa. "Hey, what are you doing in here?" Serenity asked.

"I came to see all of you but I saw your door closed so I remembered not to disturb you, in fear of Serenity's wrath" Mike said, standing up and walking over to Serenity. "So how is everything here?" he asked.

"Well I guess everyone's fine," Serenity said.

"Anything from Karina?" Mike asked.

" Bryan's been with her ever since you left, she hasn't moved or anything" Tala informed.

"I heard from doctors that there is a very good chance that she'll live, which is some progress at least" Mike said.

"Well, that's certainly good news" Serenity said happily.

"Any plans on what to do next?" Mike asked, sitting on the sofa again.

"Well, we planned on ordering something for dinner; do you have any plans of leaving?" Serenity asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't think you're going to get rid of me that easily" Mike said.

"A girl can hope" Serenity said, sitting opposite on another velvet sofa.

"Then why do you try so hard?" Mike asked, smirking.

Serenity suddenly noticed Tala's absence and turned to look at him, finding him standing by Bryan's bedroom door just watching Bryan sit by Karina's side with his hand still on hers. By the look on Tala's face Serenity could tell that he was in deep thought and slowly walked up to him, "What you thinking about?" she asked.

"Ever thought that Bryan seems really close to Karina?" Tala asked, not taking his eyes off the said couple.

"Yeah he does seem to care about her a lot" Serenity whispered back to him, peering into the room a little.

"Why don't you give them some privacy?" Mike called from his seat on the sofa.

"Why don't you do something useful and call for some food?" Serenity asked, walking back to the phone and tossing the cordless into his lap.

"Call for your own food, I'm going to the hotel" Mike said, laughing as he stood up and shoved the phone back into her hands and walked off to the door, "I'll come back later" he said before leaving.

"He must have been great to you when you were younger" Tala said sarcastically, walking over to Serenity and taking the phone from her.

"Yeah amazing" Serenity stated sarcastically as she stared at the door.

**---An Hour and a Half Later---**

Both Serenity and Tala had finished eating but Bryan hadn't left his bedroom and had refused to leave Karina's side at the time. He hadn't left the room for anything and Serenity had actually started to get worried. Tala noticed Serenity's worry and told her that he wanted to go for a walk and wanted her to go with him. They informed Bryan that they were going for a walk and left, walking along the cold streets of Tokyo, Japan. They walked on the deserted sidewalk and a man walked toward them. His hair was blonde and light green eyes that stared at the ground in front of him as he walked. Serenity hoped to just walk past the young man that walked towards her so she just kept her head low and tightening her hold on Tala's arm.

"Hey Serenity, heard you finally came back" The guy said, smiling and walking up to Serenity. Serenity looked up a little and smiled kindly; the man practically shoved Tala away and leaned closer to Serenity, his lips almost touching hers.

Serenity moved her hand up to her mouth and the boy's lips kissed her hand instead, "What are you doing?" she asked, shocked would be putting her reaction lightly.

"Yeah who the hell are you?" Tala asked, stepping in front of Serenity.

"I'd ask you the same question" The boy said, crossing his strong arms across his solid chest.

"I asked you first" Tala said.

"Glen, childhood friend of Serenity's, you?" The boy named Glen asked.

"Tala, her friend now" Tala replied coldly.

"So you're her new boyfriend?" Glen asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Tala up and down.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that" Tala replied.

"Come on Tala let's go" Serenity whispered, tugging at the end of his jumpsuit sleeve.

Tala was about to walk past Glen when Glen shoved his hand away from his chest and pushed Tala back a bit, pulling Serenity with him. "How about I fight you for her?" Glen asked.

Tala smirked and looked up at Glen, "You're not even worth it" he said.

"You see Serenity, this guy doesn't care about you enough to fight over you" Glen mocked, "But let's fight anyway" he said through gritted teeth before punching Tala right in the face.

Tala was unprepared for that and got knocked back a little, a fresh bleeding cut under his almost black eye. Tala attempted to punch Glen in the face but Glen caught his fist before it came in contact with his face but Tala used his other tight fist and punched him in the face. Glen shot back off the wall he had fallen against and shoved Tala to the ground again, causing Tala's head to throb painfully when it came in contact with the hard concrete. When there his vision was blurred but he could clearly see the fear in Serenity's eyes and the tears slipping from them. He stood up again, his face already looking a bit bruised, "How could you say she isn't worth a fight? I don't have to continue with a fist fight to fight over her. As far as I can see I've already won." He said, stepping forward.

"What makes you say that?" Glen asked coldly.

"I've won because I know more about her" Tala said simply.

"I know a lot about her too" Glen fought back.

"Really, do you know where she's ticklish?" Tala asked.

"No" Glen said after thinking for a minute.

"Her stomach and neck, do you know which Greek myth is her favorite?" Tala continued asking.

"No" Glen said after thinking again.

"Moon Goddess Selene, you see you don't know a thing about her, you just want her as some sort of prize or trophy" Tala said. "You don't care about her, but I do, I care about her a lot and I value her with all my heart and I consider her feelings in everything I do. When I'm awake, when I'm asleep, she's always on my mind" Tala continued yelling.

"And I care about him too" Serenity said, tears still streaming down her face. She stepped forward and took Tala's arm and pulled him a little so he leaned on her for some support.

"Are you serious?" Glen asked, his eyes widening as he stared on at the couple.

Tala slowly pulled out of serenity's hold and stepped forward, taking one clean shot at Glen's face, instantly knocking Glen to the ground, "Dead serious" he said, stepping back again.

Serenity held on to Tala again and pulled him close to her, "Just leave Glen, he's got you beat" she said, smiling and not taking her eyes off Tala. Glen got up and walked off, turning round once again to look at the happy couple before shaking his head and leaving. Serenity moved up a little to Tala and kissed him deeply but Tala just groaned in pain and stepped away a little. She looked at him again and saw the pain he was in from the injuries on his face, "Come on lets go home" she whispered to him.

Serenity helped Tala home and they walked into the apartment quietly. "Hey, where were you two?" Mike asked, shooting off the sofa when he heard the door opening.

"We just had a little run in with an old admirer of mine" Serenity said, following Tala to their bedroom. Tala sat on the bed and Serenity sat next to him, she looked at him thoroughly for injuries, he had a bruise on his cheek and a small cut under his almost black eye. Serenity got up and went to the bathroom, taking a face cloth from the sink and running some cold water over it. Squeezing the water out of it, she walked back to Tala and sat on the bed next to him again, gently wiping at a trickle of blood on his cheek. Tala flinched at the cold and pushed himself away from her a little, "Sorry about that" Serenity whispered.

Serenity cleaned his face a little and tossed the cloth back into the bathroom. Serenity looked at him as he stared at the ground; she pulled her arms around him and kissed him softly on his bruised cheek. She rested her forehead against his shoulder and cried, her tears burning through him like acid. Tala placed a hand on her back, moving her closer to him, "What's wrong?" he whispered in her ear.

"I would have never forgiven myself if something worse happened to you" Serenity whispered through sobs.

"It would have been worth it" Tala whispered to her, "_You_ would have been worth it" he said.

"I just don't want to lose you, not now not ever" Serenity whispered.

"You wont" Tala whispered in her ear, stroking her hair, sending wonderful chills down Serenity's spine.

Serenity's hand moved behind his neck and kissed his neck softly and gently pushed herself out of his arms. "Get some sleep" Serenity whispered to him.

"I'm okay, I'm not even tired" Tala said, shaking his head a little.

"Please, get some rest" Serenity said, tears welling up in her eyes again as she reached her hand forward and gently stroked his uninjured cheek softly.

"You're lucky I'm not in the mood to protest against you" Tala whispered.

"Good, I'll let you get some rest; I'll be in the next room" Serenity whispered back before giving him a short, simple kiss on the lips. She quietly left the room and went into the living room, sitting on the sofa opposite Mike.

"This never used to happen when you were on your own" Mike muttered.

"You think that this happened because of him?" Serenity asked in frustration.

"Yes, you never got into these types of fights when you weren't together" Mike said.

"Excuse me, Tala fought for me; he got beat up for me. He didn't start the fist fight and he didn't continue the fist fight, he knows everything about me and that's how he won. Why do you have so much of a problem with him?" Serenity asked, raising her voice but not enough for Tala and Bryan to hear her.

"Because you've been sleeping with him all these years and I bet you don't know a thing about him" Mike replied.

"What makes you think that?" Serenity asked.

"You claim you really care about him and love him but I be t you don't. What makes you think that you only think you love him because you've been close to him for so long?" Mike asked.

"To tell you the truth I have thought about that" Serenity said, getting up, walking slowly around the living room as she stared at the ground, twiddling her fingers nervously. "I thought about it and when I really came down to thinking about it, I realized that I really do love him. He really does love me back; he is the perfect, most amazing guy I've ever met. I've told him about my past life and no one could ever be so ok about it and he does love me." Serenity said, her eyes still staring at the ground in front of her as she walked.

"Has he said he loves you?" Mike asked.

"No, but I know that he's actually afraid. I can sense it" Serenity said disappointedly.

"I thought you didn't like using your powers to read peoples minds" Mike stated.

Serenity lifted her head to look at him and shook her head, "I didn't read his mind, I know because I know him and I know who he is" she said.

"Sounds like you really care about him" Mike said.

"I don't just care about him, I love him and I've never been able to actually tell him that. I love him so much and I don't know how to say it" Serenity said, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm convinced, come here" Mike said, gesturing for her to go near him.

Serenity walked over to him, sitting on his lap and cried hard, sobbing on his shoulder, "I don't think I'd be able to continue with my mission if something would have happened to him tonight" she said between sobs.

"I understand" Mike said soothingly.

"I do love him so much and I don't want to lose him" Serenity said, wiping tears from her cheeks.

Tala had been peering through the bedroom door, hearing the conversation ever since Serenity had left the bedroom. He quietly shut the door and went back to his bed, lying back under the covers. "She does love me" he whispered to himself, smiling at the thought.

Serenity quietly stepped into her bedroom, smiling when she saw Tala who already seemed to be asleep. She walked to her bathroom and changed into her nightgown and slipped under the silk sheets of her bed. She lay on her back and closed her eyes, a light smile tugged at her lips when she felt something tickle her midriff lightly. She opened her eyes when the tickling moved higher and the pace increased, "What? No, stop" Serenity yelled between laughs, Tala had started tickling her as he held her close to him to keep her from moving. Serenity pushed out of his grip but he wouldn't stop until Serenity finally fell onto the floor next to the bed. "That was mean" she said.

"I know" Tala said, holding his hand out for Serenity to take. Serenity took his hand and pushed herself back up onto the bed. She lay back down under the now messed up covers, Serenity pulled Tala closer to her and kissed him deeply though still being careful not to hurt him because of his wounds. She pulled him down and she moved over him, kissing him longer till she found that they couldn't breathe. They parted a little but kept there faces close together, Serenity breathed heavily, her finger tracing to the cut under Tala's eye. Serenity moved down closer to him, their hearts beating quickly, Serenity slipped her hand up his shirt, touching his warm skin. "I need to tell you something" Tala whispered through passionate kisses that Serenity planted on his lips.

"What?" Serenity asked, trailing soft kisses down his neck, feeling the pulse on his neck beat fiercely against her lips.

"I love you" Tala whispered, breathing heavily as he looked up.

Serenity froze and gently moved her lips away from his neck, looking down at Tala. She suddenly smiled, "I love you too" she said, her voice filled with joy that he finally came out and said it. She kissed him passionately on the lips again, this time Tala played more of a part, pulling Serenity onto him to deepen the kiss with his hand on her back. Their lips finally separated to allow them to breathe and Serenity pushed herself off Tala and lay close to him. She latched her arms around his waist and kissed his bruised cheek gently. "Did you mean all you said to Glen?" Serenity asked.

"Every word of it, I do care about you and I don't want to hurt you or let anyone hurt you" Tala said, looking at Serenity, his breathing still heavy and his heart still beating quickly.

"And I don't want you hurt either, I really do love you and I have for a long time now but I wasn't sure when to say so" Serenity said.

"At least now we know" Tala whispered, pulling Serenity into another kiss.

They slowly parted and Serenity whispered, "Yeah, now we do" Serenity lay there for a few minutes with her head lying on his shoulder, "I'm going to get a drink, do you want something?" Serenity asked, getting out of bed and walking over to the door, opening it a little before looking back at him for him to reply.

"No thanks" Tala replied, sitting up a little in the bed.

Serenity nodded and walked out of the bedroom. She walked into the kitchen and poured two glasses of water, she left one glass on the counter and tossed a pill of some sort into the other one and took it in her hand, taking it with her to Bryan's room. She quietly opened the door and stepped inside, gaining Bryan's attention. "Hey, how is she?" Serenity asked.

"Nothing's changed" Bryan said, turning his attention back to Karina's resting form.

"And how are you holding up?" Serenity asked, walking up to him.

"Good" Bryan said simply.

"You're lying again" Serenity said.

"Not this time" Bryan said.

"Well here, drink this" Serenity told him, handing him the glass. Bryan gently moved his hand away from Karina's and took the glass, "Drink it" she told him again. Bryan slowly drank it and handed the glass back to Serenity, "That ok?" Serenity asked, taking back the glass.

"Yeah thanks" Bryan said. He turned back to Karina and took her hand again, giving it a light squeeze.

"Do you want me to get you something to eat?" Serenity asked.

"No thanks" Bryan whispered.

"Ok then, you should get some sleep" Serenity advised kindly.

"I'm not tired" Bryan said, still not taking his eyes off Karina.

"Ok, I'm going to get some sleep, come wake me if you need anything or if something happens with Karina." Serenity said, walking to the door. "Good night" she said before leaving. Serenity walked back to the kitchen and picked up her glass of water and drank it quickly before placing it into the sink and walking back to her room. She closed the door, she saw Tala standing by the balcony door and he had placed his shirt on the chair. Serenity walked up behind him and placed her arms around his waist and rested her head against his back.

"How is he?" Tala asked, placing his hand on Serenity's arms that wrapped around him gently.

"I think he really is in love. He doesn't want to leave Karina, he won't sleep, he won't eat and he won't leave her." Serenity replied.

"Well he has to sometime" Tala said.

"I gave him a pill now, it should keep him awake for a little while longer but he'll need to eat soon but I'll leave them alone for the night" Serenity said, kissing his spine softly. "The pill won't keep him awake for too long but should last a while. I think it was ok to give it to him, the chemical in him shouldn't do much with the pill since the pill is made of pure natural ingredients" she said, kissing higher up his back, her hands moving up to his shoulders.

Tala smiled and turned round to look down at Serenity, "Why don't you get some sleep now?" he asked.

"Maybe I should, I am getting a little tired" Serenity admitted, yawning a little at the end, "Actually I'm very tired but I think you get my point" she said, walking to her bed and getting under the covers.

"I know what you mean" Tala said, getting into bed next to her.

"Good night sweetie" Serenity whispered before kissing him softly.

"Good night" Tala said, switching off the lights and shutting his eyes.

**A/N: **So how was it? I hope it was any good. I tried to make sure that the chapter didn't have one of those corny 'I love you' scenes but I wanted to try to make it different then usual. I really hope it was ok cause I really tried my hardest on it. I know that a lot of people like the cute fluffy romantic moments and this chapter was filled with them so I hope they turned out ok too. I know that ever since Bryan came into the picture he had been in the spot light so this chapter was a bit of a change since it focused on Tala and Serenity the most but it still had a hint of Serenity's past, Bryan was still known and so was Mike. I hope this was ok, I start school again on Monday (rolls eyes) so it will go back to updates only on the weekend unless I'll have some free time. Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter and if you liked something in particular. Bye for now!


	15. Painful Love

**Chapter 15**

Serenity started to stir; she sat up slowly in her bed and looked to her side. She smiled sweetly at Tala who lay sleeping on his side; she moved a strand of red hair away from his face and kissed his temple gently. She got out of bed slowly, loosing her balance at first but then walking to the bathroom to change. She undressed and stepped into the shower, running the cold water down her neck. She rinsed her hair in warm water and cleaned it with shampoo and conditioner before quickly rinsing it out again and stepping out of the shower.

She changed into her usual attire and towel dried her long wavy hair. She checked herself in the mirror again and left the bathroom, seeing Tala lying on his back in bed. Serenity went over to him and sat on the edge of the bed next to him on his side of the bed. "Good Morning, how are you?" Serenity asked, looking down at him kindly.

"Just tired I guess and a slight headache but I'll be fine" Tala replied, stretching his arms lazily a little.

"Get some more sleep, I'll be in the next room" Serenity said, she moved down closer to kiss him, giving him a gently yet passionate kiss on the lips. She got off the bed and walked out of the bedroom. She picked up an apple from the fruit basket and made herself a glass of juice. She ate her breakfast quietly and threw the core of her apple away and cleaned the glass. She walked over to Bryan's room and stepped inside, she walked up behind him and looked down at him worriedly, "Hey, aren't you tired?" Serenity asked.

"Not really" Bryan replied simply.

"Well you have to get some sleep sometime soon especially in your condition" Serenity said, gently placing her hand on his shoulder, only to have Bryan shrug it off. "You can't stay here longer sweetie" she whispered, kneeling down next to him. Serenity saw that there was no chance of getting through to him and left the room quietly.

She took a small box from the counter and poured another glass of water. She walked back to her bedroom and knelt down on the floor near Tala, "Here, this will help" she said, handing him the box and glass.

"No need, I'll survive" Tala whispered back.

"I obviously can't force you but they're here if you need them" Serenity said, placing the glass and box on the bedside table. Serenity walked out of the room and back to the living room, she lay down on the sofa in the deep thought and closed her bright blue eyes, with a smile starting to tug at her lips. _'He really does love me' _she thought.

'_And you figured this out when?' _Luna asked.

'_I always knew that he had feelings for me but it is just so great that he finally said it' _Serenity said.

'_He really is sweet' _Luna admitted.

'_Yeah, I can't believe he fought over me' _Serenity said.

'_It was sweet of him. He knew that you didn't like the fight and he found away to fight Glen without hurting you and he won' _Luna said.

'_Yeah, he really is amazing. I could never have thought of someone else that was so…perfect for me. He cares about me and I can tell and yesterday when he said he loved me…I don't even know how to describe it but it was just so…I don't know what to say' _Serenity said, thinking for the right words to describe her feelings.

'_I think I understand what you mean Mistress' _Luna said, laughing kindly at her Mistress' lack of words.

'_Yeah but while my love life is great I think _ _Bryan__ is going to kill himself' _Serenity said, opening her eyes and glancing over to Bryan's bedroom door.

'_I think he really is in love' _Luna said.

'_Yeah, but he's going to kill himself over there' _Serenity said worriedly.

'_He's in love and that's something that is very clear to all of us' _Luna said.

'_Yeah but he's going to make himself really sick, he hasn't eaten, he hasn't slept in 24 hours and he really should be resting because none of this is any good on his wounds' _Serenity said.

'_Ok I have an idea' _Luna said.

'_Then tell me, I'll be more then happy to hear it' _Serenity said.

'_Wait till after lunch, if he still doesn't leave Karina's side then drag him away from her and make him eat and make him rest' _Luna said.

'_Drag is such a strong word and such a strong action…which in this case I will use. Thanks Luna' _Serenity said.

'_Not a problem Mistress, I have been concerned about him too and it is in our best interest to make sure he is ok' _Luna replied.

'_I'll make sure he is ok but I don't know what I could do to help him with Karina' _Serenity said.

'_I'm sorry Mistress but there isn't much you can do' _Luna said.

'_I know but something inside me is telling me that I can help some how' _Serenity said.

'_Maybe later but not now Mistress'_ Luna said before disappearing from Serenity's mind.

Serenity sighed as she got off the sofa and walked over to Bryan's bedroom door. She gently pushed it open a little and peeked inside the room, seeing Bryan still by Karina's side. Suddenly arms wrapped around Serenity's neck from the back and a body rest against her, "You better stop worrying" Tala whispered in her ear.

"He's making himself sick by doing this" Serenity said.

"You can't blame him for staying there with her, after all I would do the same thing for you" Tala whispered back.

"I know and I'd do the same thing for you but he is going to kill himself in his condition" Serenity said worriedly.

"It doesn't matter for now" Tala whispered, "We'll drag him out if we have to" he said, laughing a little at the end.

"Why does everyone want to _drag_ him out? Can't we just talk?" Serenity asked. Serenity thought for a second, "Wow! My mind really is screwed up, what was I even thinking?" she asked herself. Tala moved his arms from around her and took her hand, leading her back to the sofa. They both sat down together and Serenity lay in his arms, "How are you feeling now?" Serenity asked.

"I'm ok now, it was just a little headache" Tala replied, shrugging.

"I hope so" Serenity whispered, giving him a short passionate kiss on the lips.

The day flew by quickly and lunch came soon. Serenity and Tala had ordered some Chinese food for lunch, enough for the two of them since Bryan hadn't come out to eat again. They both gave him some more time before walking up to him in his room. "Hey sweetie, come on you have to get some rest" Serenity told him, taking his hand.

"I already told you that I'm not tired" Bryan said stubbornly.

"Whatever, we don't believe that anymore. You can take my room, go get some rest" Tala ordered, his voice holding its icy tone.

"No thanks" Bryan said coldly, turning his attention back to Karina.

Tala sighed in frustration and grabbed Bryan's forearm tightly and pulled him to his feet. "I've had it with you" Tala whispered angrily, pulling Bryan to the door.

Serenity looked on painfully at Bryan as he was dragged out of the room and to Tala's old room. She sat down on the chair that Bryan was in earlier and looked at Karina, taking in every bruise, every cut on her but noticed the peaceful look on her face too.

**---With Tala and ** **Bryan---**

Tala threw Bryan onto the bed and Bryan groaned painfully. Bryan went to sit up again but found he couldn't move since it hurt too much, "Serenity will be here with some food and to check on your wounds" Tala said walking back to the door, "Then get some sleep, Karina isn't going anywhere so you'll see her later" he told him.

"Forget it, I don't need to rest" Bryan said trying to stand up again.

"None of this is good for you so stop trying to fight us" Tala yelled back at him, walking out the door and shutting it tightly behind him.

"How is he?" Serenity asked, picking up a tray with a plate of ready food and glass of water.

"He's driving me up the wall" Tala said angrily, sitting on the sofa and sighing in frustration.

"You didn't hurt him did you?" Serenity asked, looking back from the door.

"No" Tala replied, "Not yet at least" he muttered.

"I heard that" Serenity yelled, opening the door to Bryan's new room. She walked into the room and saw Bryan resting against the window frame, not paying attention to the older blader that entered the room. Serenity stayed by her place by the door, deciding it was safer to stay there, "I saved you some food, you should eat soon" Serenity advised.

"I'm not hungry" Bryan replied simply, still not taking his eyes off from the street view outside.

"You do realize that you're starving yourself right?" Serenity noted, placing the tray of food on a dressing table and walking closer to him. Bryan didn't reply but Serenity just placed a hand on his forearm, "You really like her huh?" she said. Bryan's muscle under her hand tensed up quickly and Serenity smiled, "No need to be shy about it, it's just love and you feel it too and it's nothing to be embarrassed about" she whispered to him.

"It's definitely something new" Bryan muttered.

"Sometimes love makes us do things we never thought of doing but sometimes it makes us blind, and in this case it's hurting you more then you realize, you haven't eaten in hours and you haven't slept in days and none of this pressure is good on your wounds or your mind, it's far too much stress" Serenity continued whispering.

"What if you were in my position…and Karina were Tala, what would you do?" Bryan asked.

Serenity hesitated and really didn't know how to answer the question, then looked back at Bryan to see him smirking when he realized she couldn't answer, "Don't turn this on me" she ordered with a smile tugging at her lips, "Ok, if I were in your position and it were Tala then I would stay with him as much as I could… but I'd also know what Tala would want, he'd want me to be ok when he woke up so I'd know when I should get some rest and that I should eat" she said.

"I just can't and not for the reasons you believe" Bryan whispered.

"What do you mean?" Serenity asked curiously.

"You wouldn't understand" Bryan said, shrugging off Serenity's hand on his arm.

"Then help me understand" Serenity said.

"I don't know how to explain, it's just that when I try to sleep the more I stay awake and when I try to eat the more I feel I can't eat anymore" Bryan tried to explain. He pushed himself away from the window frame and walked over to his bed, sitting down on the edge of his bed and staring at the ground as he sighed.

"Is something bothering you?" Serenity asked, "Apart from Karina I mean" she added when Bryan looked up and raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't know" Bryan whispered.

"Well, right now it doesn't matter. Try to eat as much as you can and if you can't sleep then at least rest but we need to find out what's doing this to you" Serenity said.

"Fine" Bryan muttered coldly though wincing when he realized that it didn't sound the way he had liked it.

"How are your wounds?" Serenity asked, walking a little closer to him but still keeping her distance.

"They hurt sometimes but I don't know, I haven't checked on them for a while" Bryan replied, his eyes easily going back to the ground.

"Mind if I check then?" Serenity asked.

"Sometimes I wonder why you bother asking me that, you'll just check anyway" Bryan replied.

"You know me too well" Serenity said with a smile, walking to him and sitting down next to him.

Bryan pulled his black top over his head and put it behind him on the bed. He placed his hands behind his back for some support and leaned back a little as Serenity slowly took apart the white material that covered Bryan's wounds. She pulled them off and placed them on the ground, she then turned to the wounded body next to her. Her blue eyes widened, she slowly took in every bruise, every cut, every stab wound and scar on Bryan, she ran her index finger a long the edges of a cut only to have Bryan wince as an end result. She noted that none of the cuts were bleeding but noted that all the wounds and marks were large in size.

She got off the bed and took a first aid kit from the draw that the doctors had left in case of emergency; she took out the bandages and gently went back to wrapping the wounds on Bryan's chest. She finished wrapping the wounds and Bryan put his black top, "Happy now?" Bryan asked in frustration.

"Quite" Serenity replied, "Try to get some food into your stomach and then get some rest, call me if you need me" she said, standing up and looking down at him worriedly. She walked to the door and opened it a jar before looking back at him, "And stop worrying…that's _my_ job" she said with a caring smile before leaving the room.

She walked into the living room and sat down on the armchair with a sigh as she rested her head back. "How is he?" Tala asked.

Serenity smiled lightly, "He is what I never thought he would be…love sick" she said, a slight giggle escaping her at the end.

"I never would have thought" Tala said.

"He really is in love. It's a good thing because it shows that Boris' affect on him is wearing off but then all this is getting to him and all this worry is too much stress on his mind and body and he's not even sleeping or eating right" Serenity said.

"Sound familiar doesn't it?" Tala asked smirking.

"Yeah but when I worry it's different, I know when to give in and when to calm down and when to relax but he doesn't" Serenity said.

"You can be such a hypocrite, you _don't always_ know when to stop worrying" Tala said.

"I know that, but if I were as sick as he was then I would know when to rest" Serenity said. "I never worried like he is worrying now and everyone knows that's a good thing" she said.

"Yeah but you're starting to get worried now so why don't you go get some sleep now?" Tala asked.

"I don't need to rest, it's not like I'm sick or anything" Serenity said.

"But you heard the doctor, you need bed rest" Tala told her, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards their room.

"Bed rest doesn't necessarily mean bed re…" Serenity started as she was pulled into her room.

"Yes it does" Tala said as he laughed, tossing Serenity gently onto the bed and walking back to the door. "Get some rest" he ordered, closing the door behind him as he left.

"Mean" Serenity yelled after him. Serenity sighed and pulled the covers off her bed and got under them and pulled them over her again, she closed her eyes and tried to rest. She kept her mind blank to keep herself from worrying and stressing herself as she usually did when times were hard. It was strange to think that life was hard in the abbey but there were times when things were good and they didn't have to worry too much about some things but now that they had escaped, they thought things would get easier but they hadn't. But she thought that things would get better in time, that neither of them was used to all they were going through, it was true that what they were going through was pain and they were used to that and they thought it would stop but it didn't but now they all knew things would get better.

She lay in bed, calmly having a conversation with Luna. She then fell asleep in the middle of the conversation with Luna and slept for hours; the sleep was calming to her and was a reward for all her worry towards the others. At eight in the evening she started to stir and sat up in her bed slowly, she stretched her arms lazily and slowly got out of her bed. She walked over to her door and walked into the living room to see Tala lying on the couch.

Serenity walked up to him and knelt down on the ground next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, she shook it gently in an effort to wake him up. Tala's eyes shot open and the first thing he saw was Serenity. "Hey, why'd you fall asleep on the couch?" she asked.

"I was tired" Tala replied simply as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes.

"So why didn't you come to bed?" Serenity asked.

"I didn't want to wake you" Tala told her as he sat up slowly.

"Well I never planned on sleeping for so long so it wouldn't have been such a bad idea if you woke me" Serenity said.

"You look cute when you sleep" Tala said with a light smile.

"And I must say the same" Serenity said, smiling before taking his hand and giving it a light squeeze. She then turned to look at Bryan's room, or at least, his new room, "Have you spoken to him since I left him to rest?" she asked.

"No, I went in there about two hours ago to check on him but he was asleep at the time so I left" Tala replied.

"I'll go check on him" Serenity whispered, standing up and letting go of Tala's hand.

"I'll come with you" Tala said, quickly standing up. Serenity smiled and walked to Bryan's bedroom door, followed by Tala. She walked into the room and saw Bryan sitting on the window sill, "Hey sweetie, did you get any sleep?" Serenity asked, walking up to him as Tala stayed by the door.

"A little" Bryan replied, his eyes still staring out the window.

"How much is a little?" Serenity asked.

"An hour, the most" Bryan replied.

Serenity looked around the room and saw the plate of food on the bedside table; a little less then half the plate was now empty. "You managed to eat most of your food, why didn't you finish it?" she asked.

"I couldn't eat anymore" Bryan replied, his voice now holding frustration at the sudden burst of questions from the older blader.

"Oh ok then. Shouldn't you try to get some more rest?" Serenity asked.

"No thanks. I'm going to go check on Karina" Bryan said, getting off the window sill and walk past Serenity. Serenity placed her arm out in front of him to stop him and Bryan glared at her angrily, "What are you doing?" he asked coldly.

"You have to get more rest, I don't want you in there for hours without getting enough sleep" Serenity said.

"But I can't sleep more so I might as well be in there with her then in here wasting my time" Bryan yelled at her.

"You won't be able to get better if you don't relax and stop worrying about her. You need to stop worrying, relax and then you'll be able to sleep and then you'll get better" Serenity said, her deep blue eyes hardening in anger.

"But I'm fine" Bryan yelled back, frustration replacing the ice in his voice.

"You keep saying that but you aren't fine, if that's what you think then you're wrong" Serenity said.

"Forget you" Bryan said, walking past Serenity, "I keep telling you that I'm…" he started to add but suddenly fell to the ground unconscious.

Serenity's eyes widened and she quickly knelt down beside him, pulling his head onto her lap. Tala, who had been watching the two of them argue, ran towards them and his fingers quickly moving to Bryan's neck to find a pulse. "What's wrong?" Serenity asked.

"He just passed out" Tala informed her. Tala placed his arms under the younger blader and gently picked Bryan up and placed him on the bed.

"I guess the exhaustion must have finally caught up with him" Serenity said.

"And the tension" Tala added, moving a strand of lilac hair away from Bryan's pale face.

**---An Hour and a Half Later--- **

"He should be fine now but another blood test needs to be taken to see if the chemical has finally disappeared from his bloodstream" The doctor said as she took notes down in Bryan's file. Bryan still lay unmoving on the bed; his top had been removed and was placed on the edge of the bed since the doctor had checked all his wounds earlier.

"Maybe you should take the blood test while he's unconscious, he wont like the idea of another blood test so it's better you do it now when he doesn't know about it" Serenity said from her place by the bed.

"No way, he'll kill us" Tala objected, "He's beginning to trust us and we cant just go behind his back and do something like that" he continued, siding for the younger blader but still holding his anger towards him.

"I guess you're right, but he's not going to be too happy about it in the end" Serenity said.

About ten minutes later, Bryan's eyes shot open and he instantly sat up with a start. Serenity gently pushed him back down again and the first thing Bryan saw was Tala's angry gaze from across the bed. "Oh great, I must be in hell cause Tala's here" Bryan muttered.

"Sorry to disappoint you Bryan, but you aren't dead, you just passed out from exhaustion" Serenity said.

"Then why do I feel like I am?" Bryan asked as he tried to sit up again only to get pushed back into bed again, this time by both the doctor and Serenity.

"Because the lack of sleep finally caught up with you, there has been too much stress on your mind and body and it's finally starting to affect you and the chemical that just might still be inside you" The doctor said.

"That's why you need to have another blood test taken" Tala said, his voice still cold.

Bryan groaned painfully, "Another one? You all just love watching me suffer don't you?" he muttered angrily.

Serenity knelt down so she was closer to his height and started to whisper in his ear, "No we don't but its better it's done, if you manage this then you can be close to Karina again. No strings attached, if you go through with this then you can go near her again but this time you have to be a bit more careful" she warned.

"Whether I'd get to see Karina or not, you'd still make me go through with this so I learn to give in" Bryan whispered back.

"Well…maybe you should learn to give in quickly next time" Serenity advised rather coldly.

"Fine" Bryan yelled with a sigh of frustration, sitting up slightly with Serenity's help.

Bryan watched uneasily as the doctor prodded him with the needle in the upper part of his forearm. The glass vial slowly filled with his blood and he turned his head away from it quickly with a half look of disgust. The doctor smiled, "Squeamish are you?" she asked.

"I guess you could say that" Bryan whispered, shutting his eyes tightly when the needle was pressed a little further. Serenity sat next to him, a hand on his back and the other hand gently trailing up his neck.

"Don't worry, you're almost done" The doctor whispered gently.

Bryan flinched a little and the needle moved, causing him to wince painfully when the needle scratched his skin. Serenity's hand moved up to his hair and she gently messed with the loose strands of his hair in a soothing manner. The doctor removed the needle from Bryan's arm and Bryan's hand instantly moved to where the needle was earlier, staining his hand with a small trickle of blood that seeped out. "So I guess I'm don't with you, shall I move on to the young girl?" The doctor asked Serenity.

"Yes, thanks" Serenity said, nodding as she led the Japanese doctor to Karina's room.

Bryan sat up weakly in bed and he sighed painfully after all that had gone through that day. "Must we go through this every time?" Tala asked, his arms crossed as he leant against the wall.

"I'd prefer if we didn't" Bryan said.

"Have you spoken to Karina yet?" Tala asked, changing the subject suddenly.

"Why? It's not like she can hear me or answer back" Bryan said.

"But at least she's got a better chance of waking up soon" Tala said persistently.

"Whatever, just leave me alone" Bryan yelled at him.

"Fine, I give up trying to compromise with you anyway" Tala said as he walked toward the door. "If you love her then you'll wake her up by yourself" he said before he left. Bryan sighed and lay back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling as his mind wandered to Karina.

**---Two Hours Later--- **

Bryan sat by Karina's bed, his hand on hers. Serenity walked into the room after a while and sat on a chair next to him and looked at the serene look on Karina's pale features, "Anything?" she asked.

Bryan shook his head a little and tightened his grip on Karina's hand, "Her hand had flinched but nothing else happened after that" he said.

"At least it's progress" Serenity said optimistically.

"Yeah I guess" Bryan whispered.

Serenity brushed strands of hair away from Bryan's face, "Don't worry too much about her" she whispered to him.

"I can't help it" Bryan whispered back, removing his hand off Karina's and rested his head in his hands.

"I know, it isn't easy stopping yourself from worrying is it?" Serenity asked, her hand moving onto his back as she rubbed it soothingly.

Before Bryan could answer, a light muffled groan was heard and Karina's eyes fluttered open. She scanned the room from her position, she quickly realized that she was no where in the abbey since the room had a much more homey feeling then any of the rooms in the abbey. She gasped in fear of her whereabouts and sat up quickly. Serenity and Bryan stared on in shock when Karina instantly looked at them, "Who are you? Where am I?" Karina asked, fear striking her heart as tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Relax sweetie, you're ok. You're with friends so relax" Serenity told her softly, fixing the pillows behind Karina and pushed her back against them.

"Who are you?" Karina asked, still not trusting the strangers that sat by her bed.

"We were in the abbey with you, I'm Serenity and this is Bryan" Serenity said as she pointed to Bryan next to her. "I understand that you don't know me but don't you recognize him?" she asked.

Karina looked at Bryan thoroughly but then shook her head a little, "I'm sorry but no I don't" she said.

Serenity looked shocked and she quickly looked at Bryan, his eyes held hurt and pain that he was feeling and tears suddenly sprung into his eyes, "Erm…Bry why don't you go to the next room to get some rest?" she asked as a distraction.

Bryan hesitated but nodded and walked out of the room, pain still clutching painfully at his heart and feeling as if the tears were finally going to escape him. He walked out of the room and back into his new bedroom, quickly walking through the living room so Tala didn't see the tears slipping off his cheeks. He shut his bedroom door tightly behind him and leaned against it, the tears in his eyes picking up speed and falling faster, "She doesn't remember" he whispered between sobs, "Why doesn't she remember?" he asked himself, his back against the door as he sat on the ground, pounding a fist on the floor as memories consumed him.

**---Flashback--- **

A five year old Bryan lay sleeping in his bed while a three year old Karina tossed and turned in her bed on the opposite wall. She let out a low whimper as she shifted painfully again. "Kar, what's wrong?" Bryan asked sleepily, as he turned his head to look back at her.

"I can't sleep and the wounds are hurting and don't let me get back to sleep" Karina replied in her young childish voice as she winced when she accidentally brushed against a wound.

"Then come near me" Bryan said still in a sleepy daze as he gestured to the small space next to him.

Karina smiled sweetly and slowly got out of her bed and walked quietly to Bryan's bed. She lay in his bed and wriggled about till she found a comfortable position and pulled the covers tightly around both of them, "Good night Bryan" Karina whispered softly as she moved closer to him for warmth.

"Good night" Bryan whispered.

**---Next Flashback---**

Bryan and Karina walked through the dark halls of the abbey to their bedroom after a whole night of extra training. They turned round the corner to a new hall and blades suddenly shot out of shooters on the walls. Bryan was the first to notice the blades and quickly pulled Karina into a tight embrace as he held her close to keep the blades from attacking Karina. He quickly picked her up and ran round the corner with her in his arms, they were finally out of harms way and he suddenly collapsed after placing Karina on the floor.

"Bry, are you ok? Please talk to me" Karina pleaded, sobbing as she gently shook Bryan's lifeless body. She turned him onto his back and saw all the cuts that covered him. " Bryan, please get up" Karina yelled.

"Stop yelling" Bryan whispered as he winced painfully.

"Please try to get up" Karina pleaded, tears falling onto his stinging wounds.

Bryan tried to push himself off the ground and held onto the wall for support, Karina placed an arm around him and helped him through the last hall to their bedroom. She quickly opened the door to the bedroom and helped Bryan lay on the bed. She ran to get a first aid kit and came back to clean up all the blood from the wounds. Bryan flinched a couple of times when antiseptic touched some of the deepest wounds that covered his fragile body. Karina quickly finished cleaning and wrapping all the wounds and sat down next to Bryan's resting body. She then started to cry and each sob racking her slender frame, "What's wrong?" Bryan asked as he opened his lilac eyes that still had a sharp spark of life in them.

"Don't ever do that again" Karina yelled as her tears wet the sheets on Bryan's bed. "You got really hurt and I don't want that" she said between sobs.

Bryan pulled an arm around her and rested it on her back as he pulled her closer to him so she could rest her head on his bandaged shoulder so she could cry there, "It's ok" he said soothingly, "Thanks for helping me too" he whispered, giving her a light kiss on the cheek.

**---End Flashbacks--- **

Bryan pushed himself off the ground and walked to his bed and lay on the soft mattress and pulled the covers over him and the pillow over his head as he cried a little harder. He removed the pillow over his head and lay his head on it again, his eyes still slightly red from the crying. He closed his eyes as he started to get a slight migraine. He sobbed quietly till he finally fell asleep, the idea of Karina's memory loss still scaring him.

Serenity quietly pushed Bryan's bedroom door open and took a peek inside. She walked inside quietly and saw Bryan's eyes still slightly red and the tear stains on the pillow. She knelt down beside the bed and pushed strands of hair away from his pale face and watched him wince at the cold tough of her hand. "Don't worry Bryan, this is nothing Luna can't handle, things will turn out okay. I promise you that" she whispered as she stood up and left the room again, closing the door quietly behind her.

**A/N: **I am so sorry but this is some of my worst work ever! I planned on this chapter being a bit more interesting but it didn't turn out the way I would have liked it but I hope it was ok. So, the good news is that Karina is finally awake so you'll wait and see how all that turns out. I have some news that may be good for some people but bad for others, I finally got 100 reviews so there is an extremely good chance that I'll create a sequel to this if you want one. Please review and I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as I can. I also know that Bryan was a little OOC in this chapter but please have mercy on me.

This chapter is dedicated to two people in particular. You all know that every chapter is my gift to you but this chapter is posted in the name of my friend SpiritualEnergy who is one of the most understanding person I have ever met and also dedicated to Demi-Goddess- Queen Of OCs who has helped me through fics and has been a really amazing person. Thanks to you all, including all my readers and all my reviewers that have been with me through this fic, You guys are all amazing and thanks for all you've done.

Bye for now and please review!


	16. Scars and Steam

**A/N: Please note that there is a lemon later on in the chapter. There is a mark that shows where it starts and where it ends just in case you would like to skip it. On with the chapter. **

**Chapter 16**

Bryan opened his eyes, his vision blurry at first. He shifted uncomfortably in his bed and stretched his arms from the stiff position they were in. He lay unmoving in his bed as he stared at the ceiling, trying to keep his mind distant from memories of Karina and him over the years. He hated this, all he had were memories, Karina was the first thing that came to his mind when he woke up and the last thought that was in his mind before he slept. He hated the fact that Karina was the one person who could make him feel so helpless, he hated feeling somewhat dependent on her all of a sudden.

It was something he hated more then anything else at the moment. He hated her more because he finally realized that he couldn't hate her. He hated her because he lost more of himself when he finally realized that after all he was taught, he didn't and couldn't hate her. It was just impossible to him now. He shook his head slightly, stopping when a wave of dizziness washed over his mind. He blanked everything form his mind, suppressing all memories and emotions of Karina as best he could, realizing the sudden uneasiness that started to rise in his stomach. He shifted onto his side, a slight groan of pain escaping him when he felt as if all he had eaten earlier was about to come up and choke him to death.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, trying to regain his sudden lack of composure. The pain was becoming unbearable any longer and finally he felt lunch rising up. He got up as fast as he could, wavering slightly but staggering quickly over to the bathroom. Throwing the toilet lid open and throwing up quickly, kneeling on the ground, his head pounding in pain and somewhat some exhaustion.

He stood up slowly when he thought he was finished and rested against the sink. His hot forehead against the cool white sink that he rested against for support. He lifted his head and rinsed his face and mouth with cold water. He walked back into his room, sitting down on the bed. He sighed painfully, getting up again he walked to the other room where Serenity sat on the sofa by herself.

She looked at him sweetly but then worriedly, seeing him sit down on the other end of the sofa not too far from her. "Where's Karina and Tala?" Bryan asked, his voice sounding quiet.

Serenity looked on at him worriedly but answered anyway, "Tala went for a walk and Karina just finished up with a doctor and is changing. Are you feeling ok cause you don't look too good at the moment?" she asked, taking in his weak state slowly.

"I think so" Bryan whispered as he rested his head against the sofa.

"What are you feeling?" Serenity asked.

"Just a little headache" He lied, trying to keep his voice normal more then pained.

Serenity reached forward slightly and placed a hand gently on his forehead but drew it back when he flinched at the cold from her hand on his hot skin, "You're really hot sweetie, maybe you should go back to resting" she advised.

"Not more resting" Bryan complained.

Serenity placed a blanket over his shoulder and Bryan quickly tugged on the edges to tighten it around him. Bryan turned onto his back again since he had been sitting on his side to look at serenity, and his attention was caught by a marine blue beyblade that was on the coffee table. He reached out and picked it up, he sat back again and stared at the bit-chip, where Karina's bit-beast was. "Nahuatl" Bryan whispered. Said Nahuatl had a dolphin tail and was a winged horse from the waist upwards.

"You know her?" Serenity asked, a light smile tugging at her lips.

"Yeah, Nahuatl is Karina's bit-beast and she's been with her since she could first remember" Bryan replied.

"You seem to know a lot about Karina" Serenity stated.

"I guess I do" Bryan whispered.

"Yeah. She's a lot like you if you ask me, she was really afraid of the doctors today" Serenity informed him.

"I thought she would" Bryan whispered, sitting back in his seat and tracing his finger a long the edges of the white attack ring.

Bryan still felt uneasy and rested back, tightening the blanket around him but keeping the marine blade in his hand. Serenity continued watching him as he sat back and shut his eyes tightly. They both heard the door opening and turned round quickly to see Karina walking slowly walking out of her bedroom, she smiled sweetly and walked to the sofa and stood behind them. She wore a pair of white simple trouser that were tucked into a pair of dark blue snow boots and a dark blue t-shirt.

"Hey guys" Karina greeted kindly.

"Hey" Serenity and Bryan said in unison.

"…here's your blade" Bryan said, handing her the blade when he noticed he still had it.

"Thanks" Karina said with a light smile, taking her blade from him. " Bryan right?" she asked.

"Yeah" Bryan replied.

"Come sit down" Serenity said, gesturing to the empty space on the sofa next to her.

Karina smiled more at Serenity and sat down next to her. Bryan sat back silently, shutting his eyes tightly as he tried to block out the voices of Serenity and Karina who had started a conversation. He rested his back against the arm of the sofa and his head against the back, his head had been aching and now felt heavy so he needed to rest it any place he could. He suddenly thought that maybe his little headache was far more then little. Serenity moved her attention off of Karina long enough to see Bryan's even paler face resting against the sofa. "Karina could you give me a second, I'm going to take Bryan to his room and make sure he's ok" she said, turning her attention back to Bryan and helping him up.

"Sure take your time" Karina said, worry evident in her light blue eyes.

Serenity walked behind Bryan to his bedroom and Bryan instantly went to lie down on his bed. "Let me guess, you have a migraine?" Serenity asked, sitting on the ground next to the bed.

"Yeah" Bryan whispered, biting down on his lip and his right hand gripping his trouser leg tightly to keep him from yelling in pain.

"I'll get you something to help. Stay here" Serenity ordered as she got up.

She walked out of the room and back into the living room where Karina sat, seemingly having a mental conversation with her bit-beast. Serenity walked over to the kitchen counter and poured a glass of water and took a box from a cupboard, "How is he?" Karina asked.

"Oh, he'll be fine. He just hasn't been sleeping or eating right and I guess it finally caught up to him" Serenity replied, a small smile appearing on her pale features.

"Earlier, did I say something to upset him?" Karina asked, her voice holding fear.

Serenity slowly lifted her head to look at Karina, "Of course not. Don't worry about it" she said.

"I really hope that I hadn't hurt him in anyway" Karina said, her eyes turning to the ground.

"Don't worry, you didn't" Serenity said with a light smile as she picked up the glass and box. Serenity walked back into Bryan's bedroom, worriedly placing the glass and box on the bedside table when she didn't see Bryan on his bed anymore. She looked around the room and saw the bathroom door open very slightly. She walked over to the bathroom and pushed the door open a little and peeked inside, her eyes widening, Bryan was on the floor again, kneeling close to the toilet as he threw up. Serenity looked on in disgust at the sight but moved closer to him, pulling back strands of hair that got in his face and rubbed his back gently and soothingly to try to calm him.

Bryan's breathing was hard but he finally slowed down and when he was done vomiting, the only thing he managed to do was sit against the cold wall. Serenity picked up a cold wash cloth from on the sink and gently dabbed the cold water against his hot forehead. "How are you feeling?" Serenity whispered.

"Don't _ever_ pressure me into eating so much ever again" Bryan muttered angrily as he pushed Serenity's hand away from him.

Serenity helped him onto his feet and helped him to the bedroom, despite him shrugging her hand off his shoulder all the time. Serenity let him fall back onto the bed and rest his head on the pillow before shutting his eyes as tight as he could. Serenity takes two pills out of the box and picks up the glass of water, handing them to him, "Drink up, it'll help a lot" she whispered.

Bryan opened his eyes and sighed, he drew his hand out from under the covers and took the pills from Serenity's hand and put them to the back of his throat and drinking the water quickly and handed the empty glass back to Serenity. Bryan shut his eyes again and pulled his arms back under the warm covers and pulled them tighter around himself for added warmth. "Thanks" he whispered as he shifted his head slightly into a better and more comfortable position.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just go back to my room, just call me if you need me but try not to get out of bed. Hopefully this will pass soon enough" Serenity said.

"I hope so" Bryan whispered, still lay unmoving.

"Don't worry, it will pass. Give it a little time and you'll be up again soon" Serenity whispered. "I'll check on you later" she said, walking out the door and quietly shutting it behind her.

Bryan ignored everything that entered his mind, trying to clear his head of anything and everything that tried to get in the way of his rest. In time, the pain became overwhelming and he felt he couldn't stand it any longer that he wished he could just lose consciousness to temporarily ease the pain he was currently in. He occasionally bit his lip to suppress the flashes of pain and tightening his grip on the bed sheets. In time he finally slept but not before obtaining more shocking blows to the head, he had finally had enough, he was physically and emotionally exhausted and slept within minutes though he still felt the occasional shock of pain.

**---With The Others---**

Karina had been sent back to her room to rest and Serenity lay resting on the sofa, waiting for Tala to return from the seemingly long walk. She heard the door slowly opening and she looked up instantly, Tala walked in and shut the door behind him. Serenity smiled sweetly and walked toward him, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and rested her head against his chest, despite his slightly wet clothes from the light rain outside, as he snacked his arms around her. "Don't go so far next time" Serenity whispered.

Tala looked down at her quickly, a look of shock on his features, "Why, did something happen?" he asked worriedly.

Serenity laughed slightly but didn't move from her current position, "No but you were gone for too long" she replied.

Tala smirked, "You missed me that much?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course I did" Serenity said, her fingers tracing along his back.

Tala just tightened his hold on her and kissed her head softly, "I didn't want to leave you behind on purpose, but I just…" he got cut off.

"Needed some time alone. I know" Serenity said. Serenity drew away from him a little and pulled his top a bit that had started to stick to his body, "Come on, you better get changed before you get sick too" she said.

"Too?" Tala asked as Serenity led him to their bedroom.

"Yeah, Bryan's got a migraine" Serenity said, closing the door behind them.

"Is he ok?" Tala asked.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. He's resting now" Serenity called from the bathroom where she brought a towel from.

Tala stood by the closed balcony door, watching the wind and rain outside as he removed his wet white jumpsuit jacket. Placing the jacket on the chair and removing the white muscle t-shirt that was on underneath and tossed it on the jacket, still staring intently at the raging storm outside. Serenity walked up behind him, a towel in hand, she started to gently wipe at the water on Tala's back, startling Tala at first but still letting her continue. His back had been dry and Serenity noticed all the pale white scars that still drew along his back from the abbey beatings.

She gently traced her finger along the scars, running from his shoulders and across his back to his lower side. Tala turned round and Serenity brushed the water off his shoulders and chest as he stared down at the shorter girl. Serenity placed the towel on the chair and looked back up at him as his hand went to her shoulder. She moved closer to him, her head once again against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat as he gently stroked her bare shoulder. She kissed his chest and her kisses moved up to his neck. Tala leaned down and pulled Serenity closer to him into a deep kiss, his emotions suddenly fuelling his kisses that now traced along her neck.

Serenity moved up and closer into him as her arms latched around his neck. A pleasurable heat rising in her when she felt his lips leave hers and trail down her neck, she knew that it wasn't the best thing to do at the time since anyone could suddenly walk in on them at the wrong time, but she just didn't have the urge or strength to push him off. "You might…want to be…careful…the only shirts I have are strapless" she whispered between pleasurable moans and gasps.

"Don't worry, I won't do much" Tala whispered back between kisses. Tala slowly pulled away, staring at her with a hint of what seemed like sadness in his eyes, he pulled away and gave her a simple little kiss on the lips before retreating back to his bed. He lay back on his bed, shutting his eyes, finally realizing how far he had gotten and felt somewhat ashamed of what he had done.

**(A/N: Please note that the slight lemon starts here so in case you want to skip it then I'll mark where it ends so you won't miss what happens after. Please also note that this is only a slight lemon so don't expect anything huge from me; I'm just an innocent girl so I won't be writing such stuff often.) **

He then felt a light weight on him and opened his eyes, looking down to see Serenity sitting on him with her legs around him, she leaned forward and kissed him passionately on the lips before pulling away and smiling slightly, "Don't worry, the door is locked" she whispered in his ear.

Tala smiled a little, "What would Mike say?" he asked.

"Who cares what he says, I know what I'm doing" Serenity replied before kissing him again.

Tala pulled his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, kissing her and running his fingers along her bare shoulders, stomach and back.

A couple of minutes later, Serenity still lay on top of Tala, her now bare body covered by the thick blankets. Serenity hissed in pain and rested her forehead against Tala's, he gently kissed her neck a couple of times when she hissed and flinched, occasionally digging her nails in his shoulder, "Shhh, just relax now. You know the pain will go soon" he whispered in a soothing manner, butterfly kisses being traced from her jaw-line to the base of her neck.

Serenity flinched again; she then smiled very weakly at his kindness and the soothing sound of his voice. She kissed him softly on the lips again, being her only source of distraction from the pain, but she always got consumed by the pain and fell short in the kiss. She finally got fed up with her sudden bursts of pain and kissed him even deeper consuming him with the passion and fire of her kiss.

She parted slightly for breath and rested her forehead against his again, shutting her eyes and panting heavily. Tala looked up at Serenity and saw her wincing, tracing his hands gently along her the soft skin of her back, and really hoping he didn't hurt his Lunarian princess. Serenity loosened up and kissed him one final time, she moved off him and lay close to him, kissing his shoulder. Her arms latched around his waist and her head rested against his shoulder, she noticed the scars on him that had snaked from his back and onto his sides and sat up slightly to see the scars on his chest.

Scars started from his shoulders and moved downwards, meeting to his waist where Serenity saw the scar end. She sighed and pulled her arms around his waist again but one hand moving to trace along the scars. She kissed him again before moving away from him a little and tightening the blanket around herself and falling asleep, as did Tala.

**--- (End Lemon)-Next Morning- 10:30am--- **

Serenity's eyes fluttered open, looking around from her position without moving. The room was quiet and no one had been in the room until Serenity shifted and saw Tala close behind her. She smiled and moved back against him and pulled his arm around her, her fingers lacing through his as she turned her head again and kissed him softly and quickly.

"What time is it?" Serenity asked, closing her eyes again.

" 10:30" Tala replied, looking behind him at the clock that was kept on the bedside table.

"How long have you been awake?" Serenity asked, quietly.

"About an hour" Tala replied.

Serenity opened her eyes and looked back at him, "Why didn't you get up then?" she asked confusedly.

Tala smirked, taking his hand out from under the covers into the cool air and lightly tickling her shoulder and her upper back, "Because I wanted to stay with you" he whispered.

"And do what, if you don't mind my asking?" Serenity asked, raising a delicate eyebrow.

"Watch you sleep" Tala whispered with a light laugh.

"Well I'm not asleep anymore so you can go to change now" Serenity said, smiling as she moved away from him.

Tala sighed and sat up in bed, grabbing his dry t-shirt from the chair and next to him and pulled it over his head. Getting out of bed (he had his boxers on so quit drooling already) he walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Serenity shifted in the bed, tightly pulling the silk blankets around her, a small smile tugged at her lips, _'It seems like you enjoyed yourself' _Luna teased.

_'Go away Luna, I'm in too good a mood to deal with you at the moment' _Serenity said, rolling her eyes when her bit-beast intruded on her thoughts.

_'Oh please Mistress, we haven't spoken as much as we did when we were in the abbey' _Luna complained.

_'I know that and that's probably why I'm having so much fun' _Serenity answered back teasingly.

_'Mistress'_ Luna complained.

_'I'm sorry Luna but things have been a little hard since Bryan's been sick and upset about Karina, helping Karina adjust to living here when she ahs no idea who we are and help Tala stopping from getting so worked up' _Serenity finally said.

_'I'm sorry Mistress but are you helping him or are you helping yourself?' _Luna asked, jokingly as she laughed.

_'Shut up Luna' _Serenity laughed.

_'But you must admit that you seem to enjoy it when he is like this' _Luna said.

_'I never enjoy it when he is hurt or uncomfortable. He is suddenly worried about what everyone outside the abbey thinks of him. Mike is quite upset with the fact that Tala and I are in love and what's been going on between us and he's afraid that what used to happen in the abbey isn't acceptable to what happens here' _Serenity started, turning on her side and sighing.

_'I see why he worries. Things are so different here that I'm not too surprised' _Luna said.

_'Yeah but at least I think he's adjusting a bit everyday' _Serenity said.

_'That's good' _Luna said.

_'Yeah. Now could you leave me alone?' _Serenity asked.

_'Why?' _Luna asked confusedly.

_'We talked now I want to rest so could you go please?' _She asked again.

_'Yes Mistress' _Luna said with a laugh before disappearing again.

Serenity opened her eyes again, turning onto her back and staring at the ceiling when she heard the bathroom door creak open. She sat up and smiled at Tala when he walked towards her and held a hand out for her to take. Serenity took it and pulled to her feet, the covers still wrapped around her. She moved up to him and gave him a simple kiss before walking past him and grabbed her clothes from off the floor and walking to the bathroom for a shower.

Tala walked over to the balcony and stepped outside, in need of some fresh air and some room for thought on all that had happened. He leaned against the railings, patiently waiting for Serenity to come back out of the shower. He really wanted to talk to her but he didn't want to do it so close to the others, he wanted her away from the apartment just long enough to tell her a few things.

Serenity walked out a few minutes later, her jacket tight around her thin body. She walked up and stood next to him, "Will we be able to go for a short walk later?" Tala asked her, looking into her deep blue eyes.

"Sure, are you sure you want me to come though?" Serenity asked, leaning against the railings too.

"Yeah, I'm sure" Tala replied.

"Let's go check on the other two" Serenity said with a sweet smile, taking Tala's soft hand and leading him back inside. They both walked into the empty living room, looking around to see no one in the kitchen which meant that Karina and Bryan were still in their rooms. "Let's check on Bryan first" she said.

"Whatever you say" Tala muttered with a smirk.

Serenity glared at him, more jokingly then coldly. She opened Bryan's bedroom door and walked inside. Both teenagers smiled, seeing Karina sitting in a chair next Bryan's bed, sitting forward in the chair to be closer to Bryan as they spoke. "Hey, what are you doing here Karina?" Tala asked, while he and Serenity walking up behind Karina.

Karina turned round and smiled, "Oh, I woke up really early this morning and I came to check on Bryan and we just started talking" she replied, young innocence in her voice.

"What were you talking about?" Serenity asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing much, just random stuff" Bryan answer for Karina, his voice still sounding rather weak as he lay on his arm.

"Right" Serenity said, still not believing him but letting it slide without another thought. "So are you feeling any better?" she asked, moving toward him and placing a hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

Bryan jolted his head away from her hand but regretted it, "Not as bad as yesterday so it's better" he replied.

"That's good" Serenity said, she turned her head to look at Tala and winked.

"Karina have you had breakfast yet?" Tala asked suddenly.

"No, not yet" Karina replied, looking up at the taller blader.

"Come on, I'll get breakfast" Tala said, gesturing for her to follow him.

Serenity watched after Tala and Karina as they left they room, she turned back to Bryan who had finally shut his eyes again. "So what were you two talking about?" Serenity asked curiously.

"Nothing" Bryan replied.

"You know…for someone who doesn't remember how close she was with you, she really does care about you and gets worried about you easily" Serenity stated with a light smile.

"How'd you know?" Bryan asked, opening his eyes and glaring at her.

"She was in the living room the other day, and was really worried she had done something to hurt you. I'm sure that deep down inside, she still has deep feelings for you" Serenity said.

"You think so?" Bryan asked, his features softening as he relaxed from the death glare.

"Yeah, I think she really likes you" Serenity said, nodding and smiling sweetly.

"But she doesn't even remember who I am" Bryan whispered in a complaining voice.

"If she loves you enough then she'll remember but it isn't just going to happen over night, you've got to give her time" Serenity explained kindly, sitting on his bed closer to him and pushing his hair back.

"I hope she just remembers soon but even if she does, what am I going to do? I never fell in love, I have no idea what its like" Bryan complained, turning onto his back and shutting his eyes. Serenity started to hold back her laughs but in vain when she burst into a fit of laughter, Bryan opened his eyes and looked at Serenity confusedly, "What the hell is so funny?" he asked coldly.

Serenity held back more laughs and started to speak between laughs, "I never would have thought that something like this would really happen and you'd be worried about it"

"Thanks for your help" Bryan muttered sarcastically, closing his eyes again.

Serenity relaxed and looked at him still with a sweet smile on her face, "Look don't worry about any of this. In time things will just happen, you shouldn't worry about this, things will just happen. Tala is my first love and I was still twelve years old when I realized how much I loved him and that's also when I had my first kiss. This is your first time and Karina's too so at least the two of you are on the same page" she said.

"I guess" Bryan whispered, opening his eyes again, "Thanks" he whispered a small thankful smile appearing on his face.

"No problem, it's what friends are for" Serenity replied. "When you feel better you can come out, we'll be in the living room if you need us" she said as she got up and walked out the door.

Karina stood near the kitchen counter with a plate in her hand as she ate, Tala sat on the sofa waiting for Serenity who went up to him and sat next to him. He pulled an arm around her, "Can we go out now?" he asked.

"Sure, is there somewhere in particular you want to go?" Serenity asked.

"Just away from here" Tala replied quietly.

"Ok. Karina is it ok if Tala and I go for a walk?" Serenity asked Karina.

"You're asking her?" Tala asked, earning himself a hit in the ribs from Serenity.

"Sure, I don't have a problem" Karina replied, smiling sweetly.

"Ok, I'm going to tell Bryan that we're going" Serenity said, getting up as she walked to Bryan's bedroom again.

**---20 minutes later--- **

Serenity and Tala had left, leaving Karina alone in the living room and Bryan still resting in his room. Karina got bored at picked up a magazine from the coffee table, she quickly looked through it and scrunched her face in confusion, she couldn't understand anything that was written and tossed the magazine back onto the wooden table. She took Nahuatl out of her pocket and stared at the bit-chip intently, carefully studying every detail of her long lost friend. She got up again and went into the kitchen and picked up an apple and ate it quietly still staring at her beyblade with her fingers curled around the metal. She walked out of the kitchen but bumped into a hard object and dropped her beyblade. Her head shot up to see Bryan standing in front of her, "Oh my, I'm so sorry I should have been paying better attention" Karina apologised quickly. Bryan nodded simply and they both knelt down to pick up the marine and white blade from on the ground. Karina touched the blade first and Bryan's hand fell on top of hers, a bright light emitting from the bit-chip. Bryan quickly moved his hand and Karina's head shot up again, her caring eyes softening more then usual as tears welled up in them, "Bry" she whispered, she grabbed the blade and before Bryan could do or say anything she leapt into his arms and hugged him tightly. "I missed you so much" she whispered, still not letting go of him but gripping tighter on his black shirt.

Bryan stood there with Karina's arms around him tightly, still in shock from her words and her sudden reaction to him. He stood there not knowing what to do, it's not like anyone ever taught him what to do when something like this happened. Where was Tala when he needed him the most? Typical Tala, he's there to pick fights with you but never around when you need him to show you what to do when a girl hugs you. He moved his arms slightly and wrapped them around her thin and fragile body, not a tight hug but with a hand on her back that kept her close enough to him to saver her warmth. He kept her close, taking in her scent and trying to find something to say, "I missed you too" was all he could whisper back.

**A/N: So how was this chapter? Interesting, crappy? Tell me what you honestly thought of it. I hope it was good since like most chapters, I put a lot of work, heart and soul into this chapter. So, Karina finally remembers ** **Bryan****, is anyone happy? I bet you are. I know this wasn't at all a special chapter but I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my good friend SpiritualEnergy who turned thirteen today. Happy Birthday Sweetie! **

**As usual, please review and tell me what you thought of this since it will really help future chapters. Also on another note, when I first started this fic one of my readers, Silvan Arrow, told me she had written a fic similar to this one titled 'When The Ice Melts' I have started reading it but hadn't continued since from the very first chapter I could see how much our fics were alike so I didn't continue because I didn't want to use an idea and be blamed for stealing it from her but I DO intend on reading it when I am done with childhood hell. The point of my saying this is that if you enjoyed reading this then you'll enjoy reading her fic so I recommend it to those who like Tala/OC pairings and abbey stories. Silvan Arrow doesn't know I am writing this (until she reads it of course) so she might kill me for not asking permission, people usually find a reason to kill me so I wouldn't be surprised if she does. Anyway, I wasted more then enough of your time with my constant rambling so just review and you'll make me very happy. Bye for now my lovely readers! **


	17. First Kiss, First Love, Too Perfect

**Chapter 17 **

Karina slowly pulled out of the hug and smiled sweetly as tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared up at Bryan. "So you remember me?" Bryan asked rather confusedly.

"Yeah, I do now." Karina replied as she wiped away her tears from her damp cheeks.

Bryan let a light smile appear on his features and walked back to the sofa to hide the smile from Karina, "That's good." he replied, sitting on the sofa and holding his head in his hands.

"Did you come in here for something?" Karina asked, walking up behind him.

"Oh, just a glass of water." Bryan replied as he got up to get his drink.

"Oh, I'll get it for you." Karina replied, running to the kitchen quickly. She walked back to him with a glass of icy water and handed it to him as he took it and drank a little, "How are you feeling now?" she asked, watching him place the glass onto the coffee table.

"Suddenly, much better." Bryan replied with a smirk.

Karina smiled sweetly, "That's good to know." she said.

"Serenity and Tala will be happy to hear you got your memory back but…how did you lose it in the first place. I mean, what did Boris do to you? Why were you under the abbey? Where were you when Boris took you away?" Bryan asked, voicing all his unanswered questions of the past few days.

"I don't know too much, Boris was never one to answer questions, especially mine. Boris had taken me to a deserted area of the abbey and kept me in a large room, I never left the room since it had everything, a training room, bed, food, everything including the usual torture stuff he used to use on us," Karina started explaining, "I stayed there for most of the time and time went by slowly and painfully. One day Boris beat me up and I tried to fight him but he was far too strong and I passed out. I had been there for ages and couldn't move cause it hurt too much and I felt I couldn't wake up. Later I heard footsteps and someone walk into the room and run back out, apparently calling paramedics and then I was moved from the abbey and then I found myself here." She continued explaining, her eyes falling to the ground.

"That 'someone' was probably Mike and he called for paramedics." Bryan said.

"I should remember to thank him sometime." Karina replied, turning to look at him again. "While I was in my coma, I felt someone with me, was that someone you?" she asked, staring down at her hand, the same hand Bryan had held while Karina was in a coma.

"Yeah, it was me." Bryan replied, turning his head away from her so she wouldn't see the blush creeping to his face.

Karina smiled sweetly, wrapping her arms tightly around him from behind him, "I missed you so much. I was so scared when they took me away, you know that?" she whispered.

"I wasn't sure," Bryan whispered back, holding her hands in his, "I was certain that Boris would bring you back sooner or later. Everyday seemed like forever." He whispered.

"It was so hard to take in all the beatings after I left you behind." Karina continued.

"Same with me. The experimenting was probably the hardest part of it all." Bryan continued whispering, moving her arms from around him.

"Did they do it a lot more?" Karina asked worriedly, turning his head so he could look straight into her light blue eyes.

"It never stopped; it just went on and never stopped." Bryan replied, pulling away from her gaze and walked to the window and stared outside. "What about you?" he asked, turning to look at her again.

"They slowed down after a while but I was still experimented on from time to time." Karina replied, getting off the sofa and walking over to him again, her arms crossed with a serious but gentle look on her face.

"Glad things turned out better for you." Bryan said, walking to his room and shutting the door behind him.

Karina stared on disappointedly at the bedroom door. It was like that every single time she spoke to him, her feelings would grow stronger and pull her into the direction of telling him how she feels sometimes. But it always hurt her to be around him and to touch him and hold him close to her, he always saw her as a little sister when she looked up to him as an older loving brother but now, now her feelings grew much more and she saw him as more then a brother. She didn't know how she could tell him, she didn't even know if she should tell him.

He had always been scared. Scared of getting hurt. She was probably the only person that had ever seen him cry. She was probably the only person that wanted to be there when he cried. No one else had been there. No one else wanted to be there. He had always been so afraid of trusting. Trusting was always hard for him. All he knew was that he could only trust Karina and when she was gone, then all his trust went with her.

**---The Day---**

That day a doctor had come back to check on Karina. They had said she was going to be ok apart from some wounds that still needed a long time to heal properly. Later that day Mike had arrived and given them all money, driving them to the mall so they could get some more clothes since they only had the little they had came with.

By the end of their trip Tala and Bryan had two bags each though Serenity and Karina went on a full out shopping spree and came back with about seven bags each. While together, Tala and Bryan had been talking, the conversation switching to Bryan's lack of love. Tala had explained a little what he could about love and what it actually felt like but tended to blush more then speak. More then anything else, Bryan wasn't sure how to react to certain things. It was just too hard for him to do something when something rather unexpected happens to him, which seemed to happen a lot in his life.

At 8:30 they arrived at the apartment again and each of them went to their rooms to unpack their new stuff. The night was rather entertaining, they all sat on the sofas together, with the exception of Mike who stayed at the hotel, talking and laughing till dinner arrived. They ate some take out food before each retiring to their rooms for a good nights rest.

**---With Karina--- **

Karina tossed violently in her bed, gasping for air and in pain. She pulled the covers securely around her thin body, the soft silk from her new nightgown rubbing against her soft cold skin, goose bumps rising.

**---Dream Sequence--- **

Karina stood at the top of a high building, wearing a long red silky dress and her long pale blue hair placed into an elegant bun. A man walked up behind her, surprising the young teenager. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest and kissed her neck. Karina gasped and tried to pull out of the strong man's hold but found it futile. "What are you doing? Let go of me!" Karina yelled, pulling painfully out of the hold.

"You never know, anything can happen in your dreams." The man whispered, he grabbed her wrists, spinning her around to look him and holding tightly onto her wrists, his fingers turning her skin red and numb. "Did you know…that if you die in your dreams…you die in real life?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Karina gasped again, suddenly feeling a cold wind wash through her, drawing back her hair from the bangs shadowing her pale face. Suddenly looking behind her she saw that she was being held against the edge of the building and could be thrown off the edge at any second. "What are you doing?" she asked frantically.

"Like I said, if you die in your dreams you'll die in real life." The man repeated with a smirk.

_'Karina whatever the hell it is he's saying, don't listen to him.' _A voice ran through her mind, she pulled her arms back but remembered that if she moved then she'll fall back. Fear finally clutched at her heart and she was about to burst into tears as sobs already racked her slender frame. _'You're stronger then this!' _the voice continued.

The man smirked more at the sight of her fear and her body shaking in his hands. He leaned forward slightly to be closer to her ear and whispered, "Shall I say goodnight?" he asked as he laughed.

Karina's eyes widened slightly, "No, let me." She said through gritted teeth. She jerked at her hands that grabbed his wrists and she spun him round so she could be in his place, thus his in hers. She smirked herself at his sudden look of fear in his dark eyes and she finally pushed him off the edge of the building. Standing at the where he was, she looked down to watch him fall painfully to his death. She sighed glaringly, stepping away from the border and crouched onto the ground finally letting the tears slip off her face now that no one was around to stop her or yell at her if she did.

**---End Dream Sequence--- **

Karina woke up with a start in her bed only to be pulled back into a warm embrace. Fear struck her again and she suddenly pushed the person away from her, taking in the features of her savior. Bryan sat on her bed next to her, slowly moving his hands off her arms, "Sorry." He whispered, backing off and quickly getting off the bed.

Karina smiled and tears streamed faster from her eyes, "Sorry? Why on earth are you sorry?" she asked, lunging forward and pulling her arms tightly around his waist, resting her head against his chest still with a smile on her face.

Bryan smiled, placing a hand on her neck, touching her soft hair but felt the light drips of sweat from the nightmare she had just encountered. He looked down at her, taking in her sweet, gentle features as a beautiful light smile tugged at her lips, _'Maybe for once I've done something right.' _He thought to himself. "Are you ok?" he whispered.

Karina moved away a little and looked up at him with a light smile as she wiped away more tears, "Yeah, I'm fine now. It was just a bad dream that's all." She replied softly.

"That's good." Bryan whispered with a sigh of relief.

"How did you know when to come?" Karina asked curiously, noting that neither Serenity nor Tala were in the room.

"Nahuatl called me and told me you needed help." Bryan replied simply, taking a step back from Karina's bed.

"Why would she do something like that?" Karina asked, a deep blush creeping onto her face.

Bryan raised an eyebrow at her but just brushed it off, "Do you need anything?" he asked.

"No thanks. I'm fine now." Karina replied, a sweet smile still on her face.

"Ok then. I'm going back to sleep…come wake me if you need anything." Bryan said as he walked to the door to leave again.

"Thanks but I'll be fine now." Karina said, lying down under the silk covers again.

"Sure. Goodnight." Bryan said, closing the door behind him.

**---Next Morning--- **

All four teenagers slept in and neither one of them bothered to leave their bedrooms before 10:30. They all met in the kitchen for lunch and sat on the couch talking when Mike came by to visit and make sure Karina was okay again. He tended to question Karina a lot on abbey life since Tala and Serenity were always rather secretive about it. Mike took some kind of liking toward Karina as they often fell into conversations by themselves as Bryan sat silently and Serenity snuggled up to Tala and just rested quietly there and occasionally asked Tala questions but only got short answers.

Serenity tugged at Tala's jump suite sleeve to get his attention, "Come on." She whispered. She stood up and pulled at his hand, "Will you excuse us for a while, I need to have a word with Tala." She told the others, gaining nods and both walking off to their room. She pulled Tala into the room and shut the door, "Are you feeling okay sweetie?" she whispered.

"Yeah I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Tala asked, in a hushed and whispered voice.

"You've been really quiet lately and it's worrying me." Serenity whispered back, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." Tala whispered.

"I hope so. Do you want to go for another walk later?" Serenity asked, her hands moving to his shoulders and looking up at him with a smile.

"Sure." Tala whispered back, his voice barely being heard.

"Ok. Are you sure you're okay?" Serenity asked.

Tala smirked, his hands finally sneaking down to her waist, giving her a light and simple kiss, "I promise that I'm fine." He whispered.

"Good." Serenity replied simply, moving forward she pressed her lips against his into a fierce passionate kiss. She parted slightly, her hands lacing through his red hair, "Come sit down." She whispered, pulling him to sit on the bed. He sat down on the bed and Serenity sat behind him, her hands moving to his shoulders as she gave him a light massage. Tala moved his hand onto hers and she moved closer to him, her arms tightening more around his chest as she rested her chin on his tense shoulder. Serenity gave him a light kiss on his cheek, "Want to go out now?" she whispered.

"Why not?" Tala asked as he stood up and pulled Serenity to her feet.

They both walked out into the living room again, seeing Karina sitting on the couch with a magazine in her hand. "Hey, where's Mike and Bryan?" Serenity asked curiously.

"Mike left, he said something about avoiding his work too long and that he needed to get back to his hotel." Karina replied, looking up from the magazine Mike had given her, seeing as the only magazines that were in Serenity's apartment were all in Japanese.

"And Bryan?" Tala asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"He went to his room when Mike left." Karina replied again, hurt suddenly evident in her eyes at the mentioning of Bryan.

"Ok. We're going for a walk, we'll be back soon." Serenity said, walking over to the door, Tala following behind her with his hands shoved in his pockets.

Karina watched the two older bladers leave the apartment, sighing she lay down on the couch. Now she felt frustrated, all she could think about was Bryan and when he was next to her after her nightmare it just made her want to do more then give him a hug but she couldn't. She couldn't allow herself to do more then hug him, she knew he wouldn't like him. She wanted to tell him how she felt, she wanted to tell him so much but she didn't want to upset him. She could _never_ tell him how she felt. No! Now she was going to tell him.

Karina sat up quickly and smiled, _'I'm going to tell him!' _she thought triumphantly. _'How the hell am I going to do that?' _she asked herself, suddenly disappointed. Before the young Russian could think of anything to say, Bryan walked out of his room and into the kitchen. Karina nervously walked over to the window and stood staring outside, twiddling her thumbs nervously. She took a deep breath and looked over to where Bryan was; heading back to his room after leaving the kitchen, " Bryan?" she asked quickly.

"Yeah?" Bryan asked, stopping for a second to look at her.

"Can I talk to you for a second please?" Karina asked quietly and nervously.

"Sure." Bryan replied, hand placed deep in his pockets as he walked over to the younger blader.

"I need to tell you something…You aren't going to like it but please listen." Karina whispered.

"Ok fine. Tell me, what is it?" Bryan asked, looking out the window.

"Over the years, I know you've only seen me as a little girl and never saw me as anything more then a sister or a pain in the neck but I realized that I like you more then that now. You've always been there for me when I needed you the most. I tried to ignore it but today when you were in my room while I had the nightmare it just stirred the emotions and I couldn't ignore them longer." Karina explained, her voice quick and shaking from time to time. "In short, I really like you and not just as a friend anymore." She whispered, blushing furiously.

Bryan stood staring on in shock, his heart beating quickly. His heart swirling with two emotions, happiness since he knew he felt the same way and fear for her hurting him. "Don't mess with me Karina." He whispered fearfully as he backed up into a wall.

Karina smiled and moved closer to him, "I'm not playing, I never would." She whispered, giving him a simple and light kiss on the lips before pulling away quickly. "I knew you wouldn't be happy about what I had to said but I had to tell you whether we liked it or not." She whispered finally, turning round to walk away.

Bryan's senses were screaming round about this line 'don't let her go dummy.' Doing as his senses asked, he suddenly grabbed Karina's wrist before she walked off to her room. He pulled her closer to him, gently loosening his hold on her wrist, "I know it may not look like it but I'm thrilled about it." He whispered, leaning forward and pressing his lips slightly on hers and moving away fairly quickly.

"So you…?"Karina whispered confusedly.

"Always." Bryan whispered back. Karina moved closer to him, her arms wrapping around him tightly with her head tucked under his chin as he held her close to him.

"I bet I sounded so weird talking earlier huh?" Karina asked, her voice muffled with her face buried in his chest.

Bryan shrugged and whispered back, "Not really. I'm glad you spoke though cause I would have sounded far worse." His words creating a light laugh from Karina.

**---Two Hours Later--- **

Serenity and Tala walked back into the apartment, both their eyes widening when they saw the scene. Bryan say slouched on the sofa, Karina resting her head against his chest with one hand on his stomach and the other on his knee with his hand on hers, both sleeping peacefully. The two older bladers smiled at each other at the cute scene. They shook their heads and walked into their bedroom for a short rest of their own.

_'So __Bryan__ finally found love. Now they all had love. Well except Mike of course, someone seriously needs to find him a girlfriend before he gets old. It's hard to think that he's the only one that hasn't had love within years. It's amazing, us as ex-abbey kids managed to trust enough to fall in love but Mike's more afraid then we are. Well that's a problem for another time, right now I just want to lie here and enjoy Tala for a little while longer' _Serenity thought, snuggling up to Tala on the bed, his arm around her as she buried her head into his shoulder and wrapped an arm over his stomach.

_'I don't know what others think but…things seem so…perfect right now. Everyone around here is in love or at least has someone that really cares about them so it just seems perfect. Going for walks have come to be my favorite thing to do with Serenity for some strange reason. I guess it might be because no one would be around and I could just talk to her more then I feel I can talk here. Here, I don't speak, I'd rather I didn't. But right now things are just too good that I can't be bothered to think about all the bad stuff like not being able to speak. I'd rather sit here and enjoy the silence and enjoy Sere's warmth and comfort.' _Tala thought, tightening his hold on Serenity and shutting his eyes to rest for a while.

So as Tala put so clearly things were in fact perfect. Nothing could have stopped this, no one or nothing could've made things bad for them so suddenly. Each of them were in love, in love with someone that loved and cared for them dearly. It couldn't have been better. They each got their rewards for all the pain they had gone through in their lives. To them, things couldn't get better, could they? Well if they could, then that would be later on in life but not now. Now things were perfect.

Too Perfect!

**A/N: So how was it? I know it was short but since it's mothers day tomorrow I wont have time to write so I posted what I have now. I hope this was any good but please tell me if I did something wrong or if I should fix something in it. Please review. Bye for now! **


	18. Just Talking

Chapter 18 

Serenity walked out of her bedroom to see if the newfound couple where still there. To her disappointment they weren't, or at least Bryan wasn't. Karina now lay with her head on a pillow, her hand laying by her head and a blanket now covering her thin body.

Serenity smiled and walked back into her room and shut the door quietly. "They still there?" Tala asked, still lying in bed.

"Just Karina." Serenity said, seeming disappointed as she sat on the bed. "But it was cute; he covered her up and everything." She continued.

"I bet he was chicken and ran off when he woke up." Tala said.

"Shut up. Leave him alone." Serenity said, gaining a grunt from Tala who turned to look away from her, "I mean it. Don't tease him about this." She warned.

"Fine." Tala said, "Kill joy." He muttered.

"I mean it." Serenity warned again in her stern tone.

"I know, I know. I heard you the first time round." Tala said again, rather frustrated at her insisting and her going against him for once.

"Good." Serenity said with a small smile, leaning over him and giving him a light kiss on the lips. "Now…I'm going to go grill him about it." She said quickly, standing up and running to the door.

"Why do you get to grill him?" Tala asked, sitting up quickly and glaring at her.

"Cause I know when to shut up." Serenity replied simply, running out the door and closing it behind her. She walked over to Bryan's room and opened the door and peeked inside. She saw Bryan sitting on his windowsill, staring outside with a gloomy look on his features. She walked over to him and smiled a little, "Why the long face? You got what you wanted didn't you?" she asked.

Bryan continued staring, not even noticing Serenity's smile, "I guess I did. It just didn't seem normal…it didn't seem right. To me at least." He said.

"It's normal. You should be used to it after a while." Serenity said, her smile fading and her features more serious.

"What if I hurt her?" Bryan whispered.

"What?" Serenity asked.

"What if I hurt her?" Bryan repeated, looking up at her.

"You wouldn't do that on purpose." Serenity whispered as she shook her head.

"So what if I hurt her by accident?" Bryan asked worriedly.

"You wont." Serenity told him.

"But what if I do?" Bryan asked angrily and coldly.

"She'll understand." Serenity whispered.

"And if she doesn't?" Bryan asked again.

Serenity smiled warmly, "You're looking at it all the wrong way." She whispered. "If you love her…then you'd trust her to understand. She will understand how you feel. I promise." She finished.

"I just don't want to see her hurt and it feels worse if I know that I'm the one that hurt her." Bryan said finally, getting up and walking to the other side of the room.

"You seem to know how to treat a girl. You wont hurt her." Serenity said, crossing her arms and walking to him again.

"What on earth makes you think I know how to treat a girl?" Bryan asked.

"You've pretty much hated me since the very first day we met." Serenity started, "And your anger towards me grew stronger when you moved into my room. Yet…you never hit me." She said rather triumphantly.

"So what? That doesn't mean a thing." Bryan said.

"It means that you wouldn't hit a girl. Every other guy in the abbey would hit a girl if asked to yet you couldn't…you wouldn't." Serenity said finally. "You wont hurt her, I promise. You aren't the type that would hurt her purposely and if you do hurt her accidentally then you'll know how to fix it." She said reassuringly.

"I hope you're right." Bryan whispered.

"This is the last thing you should worry about. You need to get used to it and this would seem like you least problem." Serenity said with a small laugh.

"Thanks a lot." Bryan said sarcastically.

"No problem." Serenity went a long; she walked to the door and opened it. "Things will be fine." She said before leaving.

Bryan sat down on his bed with a sigh, enjoying the sudden quiet but was as usual interrupted. "Why was Serenity in here?" Karina asked.

"She was just helping me with something." Bryan replied simply.

"Care to tell me what?" Karina asked, the blanket over her shoulders being tightened around her before she sat down next to him.

"It's nothing." Bryan whispered.

"You sure?" Karina asked.

"I'm sure. Don't worry." Bryan whispered to her again, finally looking into her eyes.

"But I do worry," Karina whispered, pulling the blanket over Bryan's shoulders for warmth, "You do worry me sometimes. Ever since we were kids." She said.

"I know and I'm sorry." Bryan apologized, moving the blanket off his shoulders and tightening it around Karina.

Karina sighed, "Don't be." She whispered, pulling him into a hug. "Come on, lets get lunch." She whispered.

"I'm not hungry." Bryan replied, pushing away from her.

Karina shifted his head a little so he'd look at her, "Bry…"she started, "I know you haven't been eating too well lately." She said.

"How'd you know?" Bryan asked, his lilac eyes widening. He never had any intentions of telling her in the first place so seeing that she knew actually scared him.

"It doesn't matter. I just know that it isn't good for you." Karina said.

"I'm trying but nothing works." Bryan whispered, pulling away from her again and walking over to the window.

"Try a little harder. Now I'm back so you don't need to put off eating for me anymore." Karina said, walking up behind him again.

"I don't know how much harder I can try. It isn't exactly easy after all, one day I'm eating next to nothing and now I have a lot to choose from. I just can't take some changes. And I don't just mean by myself, it's like my body can't take the changes of eating so much or of doing less work then I'm used to." Bryan explained.

Karina wrapped her arms around him again, "I understand; it's hard but you'll manage." She whispered.

"I hope so." Bryan whispered again, moving away from her again, almost afraid of her soothing touch.

"Stop running would you?" Karina asked, rather frustrated at his walking away at every touch.

Bryan looked back at her after hearing the frustration, "Sorry." He said.

"Don't worry about it. Let's go." Karina said, pulling his hand so he'd follow her to the kitchen. It didn't take them very long to each find something to eat, Karina had a bowl of fruit and Bryan just had a piece of toast. Karina had insisted him on eating more but he wouldn't give in and didn't eat anymore then what he had prepared.

After eating Bryan went to his room, leaving Karina alone in the living room. Karina sighed a little, wishing she could be in there with him but knew he needed some time alone. Serenity opened her bedroom door, first heading to the kitchen but then noticing Karina sitting on the sofa by herself. Serenity jumped onto the sofa next to her, startling her a little with her jumpy nature that day. Serenity blew a piece of her hair away from her face, "What's wrong?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing much. Just a little worried about Bryan that's all." Karina replied, her voice holding disappointment.

"Yeah I know what you mean but you shouldn't worry about him. Just know he needs some time to adjust to all this." Serenity replied to the explanation.

"Yeah, I know and I feel the same way." Karina said.

"Don't worry, he'll get used to things soon enough." Serenity comforted, patting her gently on the back.

"I hope so." Karina whispered.

Serenity nodded and got up, walking back to her bedroom and stepping inside. "Hey Tal, I need a favor…" Serenity started, leaning against the bedroom door with her arms crossed.

Tala looked behind him from where he stood by the balcony door, his left shoulder leaning against the window with his arms crossed too, "Sure. What is it?" he asked.

"I need you to take Bryan out." Serenity said.

"Excuse me!" Tala yelled, eyes widening immensely.

Serenity narrowed her eyes and replied to the weird reaction, "I didn't mean it that way dumb ass," she said, Tala sighing, "I mean get him out of the house and just talk." She said.

"Why can't you?" Tala asked.

"Because he needs a guy to talk to and not me, besides I talk to him all the time." Serenity answered.

"I offered to talk to him this morning." Tala said.

"For all the wrong reasons," Serenity yelled. "Just please do it." She said.

"Fine." Tala mumbled angrily. He walked out the bedroom door, trying to find Bryan but really hoping he wouldn't since he really didn't feel like going out nor talking to the younger blader.

Serenity sighed, she sat on the bed and waited before she heard the front door banging tightly behind the two male bladers of the apartment. She got back off the bed and walked out into the living room, intending on talking to Karina for a while.

**---That Night-10:30pm--- **

During the rest of the day things had gone fine. Tala and Bryan had gone for the walk and just talked about all Bryan's worries of the day. Things he just couldn't tell Karina at the time. To him the talk actually helped, he knew it was Serenity's idea and it worked for him for once.

Tala was less excited about the talk, he didn't want to go out that day and just talking about relationships just put him into an even worse mood. He answered Bryan's questions and helped him out as best he could but his mind had kept drifting to the little amount of yelling with Serenity. True it was a little yelling and hardly considered a fight but it still upset him. He hated her mad at him. She was always so sweet but when she gave him the silent treatment, it was brutal.

Karina and Serenity sat at home talking about the guys. How they felt about them and just things in general about each of their relationships. Basically it was just mindless girly chit-chat. Serenity tended to just talk about her experiences in the abbey with Tala and the conversation shifted to Karina and Bryan. So mainly the whole day was somewhat enjoyable.

Serenity pulled the covers over her tightly. Tala sat up a little and glanced over at her, her back facing him so she didn't realize he was still staring, "You mad at me?" he asked.

"No." Serenity replied simply and dully.

"Then why aren't you talking to me?" Tala asked again.

"I just have nothing to say." Serenity said.

"Please, don't do this to me Serenity." Tala whispered.

"Do what?" Serenity asked, her tone cold and angry.

"Giving me the silent treatment." Tala said, his voice low and under his control. "You've hardly spoken to me all day." He said, his voice being held into a calm tone.

Serenity sat up and look back at him, her features loosening as she stared at him. She suddenly realized how much she had hurt him. She saw it in his eyes, it was all there in his eyes, his pain was there. She wrapped her arms around him into a tight hug, "I'm sorry sweetie," She whispered honestly, "I didn't realize I hurt you so badly." She said.

"Just don't do that again." Tala whispered back, his head resting on her shoulder.

"I wont, I wont." Serenity whispered soothingly, gently moving him off her shoulder, "But I need to ask, why were you so afraid to even talk to Bryan?" she asked curiously.

"I don't know. When it's just you and me I try to make things up as I go along so I didn't know how to answer Bryan." Tala replied.

"So why on earth didn't you say so earlier?" Serenity asked.

"I didn't know how to say it and it's not like ever really got the chance." The Wolf answered.

Serenity laughed slightly, "Chance or not, next time grab me by the neck and just tell me." She said with her usual warm smile on her face.

"Deal." Tala replied with a smile of his own.

"Good." Serenity said, lying back down. "This is what we need to do." she said.

"What?" Tala asked confusedly.

"We need to talk more." Serenity replied simply. "What is it hat you have a problem with?"

"Things are just too different around here."

"That a bad thing?"

"No but too different then to what I am used to. I just dont know how to deal with everything here" Tala replied honestly. "Today I was just upset to begin with so I'm not surprised about the way I acted." he said.

"Well it doesnt matter now." Serenity replied, giving him a light kiss,"Can I sleep now?" she asked, closing her eyes with a yawn. **(A/N: It's still quarter past one in the afternoon here and I really did just yawn.) **

"Yeah, you can." Tala replied, getting under the covers again and staring at the ceiling, the smile still on his pale face.

"Thanks." Serenity laughed, pulling the covers up and tighter around her.

**---Next Afternoon--- **

Each blader had stayed in their rooms, with the exception of Tala who stayed outside on the balcony. One thing crossed each of their minds that day, _'We're out of the abbey, what now?' _They had all hoped that they would leave the abbey but the thing they never thought about what would actually happen when they left. All they had planned had been done in a matter of weeks. Needless to say they had been clueless on what was to happen next. Did they just live in the apartment? What were they to do? Did they have to go to school? What about the others in the abbey? True, they had each been sent back to their families and those that didn't have a family to go to, were instead put into a house that had just been built.

Mike had decided that it wouldn't be fair to split them up and put them into separate homes so he decided to keep them together, since after all, they had all known each other over the years so he thought that maybe they trusted each other more then they would trust anyone else so found it as the best thing. None of the children had gone to the new house nor to their families since it was safest for them all to stay in hospital for a little while longer.

As if on cue, each blader walked out of their bedrooms and into the living room, each looking at each other before one finally spoke. "Doesn't feel right does it?" Serenity asked the other three.

"Something else has to be done." Karina said.

"And I know what it is." Tala said with a smirk, looking at the other bladers to see if they understood. They did, so now it was time to finish the job.

**A/N: Sorry for not updating! My mum got rid of internet at home so I cant write till after exams so please forgive me. Can't talk, bye for now and please review!**


	19. Can't Get Any Better Than This

**Chapter 19**

**---In Russia---**

Boris pulled out of the grip of the two guards and ran off, the police chasing after him but no use because he was too far ahead for them to catch up with him now. A grey blade stopped Boris in his tracks, another beyblade dropped next to that one, an ice blue one. Boris stared on in shock, seeing a dark purple blade and a marine coloured blade fall in front of him.

He stared on in shock at the blades, recognizing each of them all too well. He stared up at the owners, Serenity leaned against Tala, her arm around his waist as they both stared down with angry eyes at Boris. Next to them stood Karina and Bryan, Karina held Bryan's hand tightly in hers for some support. She used her other hand to lower the hood of her marine jacket, showing off her piercing eyes holding anger towards Boris. As for Bryan, his eyes held nothing, they were blank looking down at Boris, and though they were blank they held something inside, suppressing all his anger and pain from over the years.

The police caught up with Boris, just standing behind him when they each saw the bladers on the roof of the building. Amongst the police stood Mike, staring up with a smile at the four teenagers. "How does it feel to be surrounded with no way to turn Boris?" Tala asked with a smirk, seeing fear clearly in Boris' eyes.

Boris didn't reply and Serenity smirked, "Sucks doesn't it?" she asked, nodding.

Each of them jumped off the building one at a time, standing before Boris with their blades still in front of them, blocking their paths to Boris. "Why don't we show you how each of us have felt over the years, hmm?" Bryan asked coldly, letting go of Karina and walking closer to Boris.

Bryan looked down at his blade which on Bryan's command quickly slammed Boris into a wall by his jacket. Bryan walked up to him, standing so close to him that his warm breath reached Boris' face. He punched Boris in the stomach, "Ever thought about what it felt like to be experimented on every single day of your life? Feeling nothing but pain and neglect?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Bryan's hand snacked around Boris' neck, gripping it tightly in his hand, "Hey Bryan," Serenity called from behind him. Bryan looked back at her confusedly, "We all want a hit at him so don't kill him just yet." She told him, Bryan nodding.

_I can't separate myself from what I've done  
I've given up a part of me  
I've let myself become you  
get away from me   
gimme my space back / you gotta just go  
everything comes down to memories of you  
I've kept it in but now I'm letting you know  
I've let you go  
_

Bryan mercilessly gripped Boris' neck tighter, bruised finger marks quickly being printed on Boris' skin. Boris croaked and squirmed around in Bryan's hold when he couldn't breathe. "Ever wondered what it felt like not to be able to breathe because of you and your little experiments?" he asked. "What was your sick reason for taking all that out on me?"

Boris still struggled in Bryan's grip as it tightened slightly as he spoke. Boris obviously had no excuse, nor a reply but just continued gasping for breath. Bryan growled with anger, banging Boris' head against the hard stone wall. Boris' eyes suddenly widened as Bryan's grip on him slowly loosened and he felt warm blood drip from behind his head and down the back of his neck. Bryan's eyes still flared up with anger and pain, so many years of torture finally pulling to the surface all at once, threatening to overwhelm him. He dropped Boris to the ground, refraining from killing him since he knew full well that the others wanted a few shots at him. After all, they earned it.

He pressured Boris' shoulder against the wall and knelt down to his level, "Good luck," He whispered, mockingly, "You're going to need it."

Karina walked up behind Bryan, an equally angry look in her eyes. "Play nice you two." Tala called from the behind.

Karina grinned, "Thought you got rid of me?" she asked, in reply to his Boris' shocked look.

"How…?" Boris stuttered, voice breaking through the deep breaths.

"The world isn't as emotionless as you are, Boris." Karina replied. She angrily grabbed him by the shirt, her bit-beast and anger towards this horrible man fuelling her strength. Karina tightened her fist, taking one quick blow to Boris' stomach. Boris spat up blood, dripping down the front of his shirt, missing Karina's hand. He let out a small whimper, his stomach feeling sore where she had just hit him. "Was that a whimper, Boris?" Karina asked, a smile on her face, "Last time I whimpered like that you doubled my pain, correct?" Her eyes hardened more, thinking back to all those painful nights. She launched a blow straight to his head, causing more blood to escape from the slit in the back of his head.

Boris caught her wrist, squeezing it hard, his blooded hands against her soft smooth skin. His vision still remained blurred but knew that Karina had suddenly gasped, and knew that she was suddenly afraid of him. But her façade didn't falter, she remained strong with a sense of confidence that everything would be fine.

Fair enough everything did turn out fine because within seconds Bryan was beside her and holding up Boris himself. Karina smiled of the kindness she still got from him. She turned her attention back to Boris. "See Boris…" she said, looking at Bryan lovingly, "We're not alone anymore. We don't need to face you by ourselves." She said, kicking him hard in the groin. **(A/N: Nice girl eh?)**

She walked back to the other two, a sweet smile on her face again. "Had fun?" Serenity asked her, a smile on her face, eyes slightly closed from the sunlight in her eyes.

"It was excellent!" Karina replied, nodding.

"Revenge is sweet." Tala added, smirking at where Bryan still stood, taunting Boris. "He doesn't stand a chance. It's like he spent all these years teaching _us _to be defensive but he cant even throw a punch." He continued.

"I guess he's only as strong as the shit he uses on us." Serenity added.

"Yeah." Tala agreed. "So…you're up!" he told Serenity, giving her a pat on the back.

"No." Serenity said, shaking her head.

"Don't you want revenge, Serenity?" Bryan called from next to Boris.

"She has the right mind!" Boris said.

"Shut up!" Bryan yelled at him.

"Of course I do!" Serenity yelled, "Just that, I want to go last." She told them, "If you don't mind." She added, looking up at Tala.

"Sure." Tala replied, walking forward, "But…I need your help." He said, turning back at her and grabbing her hand.

"What?" Serenity asked, looking at him as she was rushed in front of Boris. _'What are you planning Tala?' _

"Long time no see, Boris." Tala greeted.

"Long time no see, squirt." Boris shot back.

_I can't separate myself from what I've done  
I've given up a part of me  
I've let myself become you  
get away from me   
gimme my space back / you gotta just go  
everything comes down to memories of you  
I've kept it in but now I'm letting you know  
I've let you go  
_

"You remember how you used to say that friends would bring us down and love was useless?" Tala asked him, gripping Serenity's hand tighter.

Boris didn't reply but just watched Tala lean in and kiss Serenity softly, angering Boris more that he would do such things. "I got my friends and I found love. They have done nothing of the sort to me. All they have done is make living under your roof and under you rules easier for me!" he yelled at him.

"So…you and _her_?" Boris asked, eyes filled with fury.

Serenity looked at him angrily, "I have a name you know." She retorted.

"All too well…Serenity the slut." Boris mocked.

"Slut?!" Serenity yelled, "Why you son of a bitch!" she yelled, starting to beat him up, Bryan quickly letting go of him to avoid the hits. She took a deep breath and slowed down, stepping away from where Boris was, sitting back against the wall breathing heavily.

_GET AWAY FROM ME!  
get away from me  
gimme my space back / you gotta just go  
everything comes down to memories of you  
I've kept it in but now I'm letting you know  
I've let you go _

Boris looked up at the two teenagers that stood before him. She wiped the blood off her hands and Boris glanced at Tala. Tala held his hands up in apology, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." He told him. He turned back to Serenity, "He's all yours. Enjoy it!" he told Serenity, giving her a quick kiss on her forehead and walking back to the others.

"You heard him." Serenity told Boris, "You're all mine." She finished. She pulled a silver pen out of her back pocket, opening the cap and revealing it to be a knife.

"You wouldn't dare." Boris said, "You don't have the strength or the heart." He continued taunting.

"Longer the wait, harder the stab." Serenity told him, flipping the blade in her hand.

"Like I said, you wouldn't!" Boris said.

Serenity smiled, her usual look of innocence replacing her fierce one. She walked closer to him and knelt down in front of him, "You think so?" she asked.

"I know so!" Boris spat.

Serenity's smile grew, suddenly jamming the knife into Boris' side and pulling it out again.

Tala, Bryan and Karina winced, apparently never realizing how serious Serenity was. "That's got to hurt." Bryan stated.

"Yes well, he deserves every bit of pain he's getting." Karina said.

Bryan suddenly looked shocked and turned to look at her, "I'm certainly seeing a new side of you." He said.

"Can I help it? He did so much to me and I want him to pay for it. No better person to make him pay than Serenity." Karina said.

"Very true." Bryan agreed, snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him.

Both looked on as Serenity yelled at Boris, going on about how much he hurt them all. Mike walked up to them, "You're really going to let her go on like that?" he asked them.

"Of course." Tala replied for them all.

"What if she kills him?" Mike asked.

"What's his sentence?" Bryan asked him.

"Most probably death for child abuse and neglect on these kids." Mike replied.

"Then what better hands to die in than Serenity's?" Karina asked, smiling.

"Very true." Mike agreed.

Serenity held the knife to Boris' throat, still smirking deviously. What ever happened to the good girl who was in the abbey? "Just kill him already." One of the abbey kids yelled at her.

"Yeah!" Others said in unison.

Serenity looked at them all as each of them agreed with the first before hearing enough and turning back to Boris, "The crowd has spoken." She whispered.

_GET AWAY FROM ME!  
I've let myself become you  
I've let myself become lost inside these   
thoughts of you  
giving up a part of me  
I've let myself become you_

Serenity plucked up enough courage, readying the blade in her hand. Boris scrunched his eyes shut, arching his back and leaning up against the wall. Serenity plunged the knife into…the wall. Boris opened his eyes, seeing Serenity glaring down at him as she straightened up. She walked away from him, leaving him alone to regain his strength and walked to the others, leaning against Tala's arm. "Why didn't you finish him off?" Karina asked, hurriedly.

"He isn't even worth the effort." Serenity replied quietly.

"What effort? All you got to do is drive the knife into his throat and that's it." Bryan told her coldly.

"He isn't worth it!" Serenity yelled, glaring menacingly but the cold look didn't even faze the younger boy. "If I killed him than the blood is on all of our hands and then we would be no better than him." She told them.

Tala looked down at her for a second, before glancing up at the others as they stared at Serenity, "She has a point there." He agreed.

"You're only agreeing with her cause you love her." One of the other kids in the crowd told him.

"No…" Bryan started.

"I think she's right too." Karina said, looking up at all the others.

Jeremy stepped out of the crowd, his white t-shirt stained with blood on his shoulder. "Serenity, you know what he did to all of us, he doesn't even deserve to live." He told her.

"He's done terrible things and I'd be the first to admit that he's a fucking asshole who should be castrated then beheaded but I'm not about to do it, the blood would be on my hands and on yours too." Serenity said, crossing her arms and eyeing the whole group of kids before her.

"So what? Half the time we were made to kill our own kind, blood is already on our hands and some of us already feel guilty enough." Another boy stepped out, trying to reason with the girl.

"Exactly. So let's make him live with _his_ guilt." Tala said, smirking.

"Yes, besides I think he's had enough." Karina added, shoving her cold bare hands in her pockets for warmth.

"He never thought it was enough for us." Bryan muttered. As much as he agreed with the Karina, Tala and Serenity, he couldn't deny what he had been through cause of Boris and his wicked plans. His actions earned him a quick jab in the ribs from Karina, "It's true." He whispered to her.

"That's besides the point, Bryan." Serenity told him firmly.

Bryan shrugged, "Maybe."

The thin figure walked through the stone hallways, her hand brushing against the dark stone walls. She spent so much time walking through these halls, so many times, good and bad. Now it was about to disappear, it was officially all over. They were free, they could have better lives and never look back at the horrible things they had been through and had seen in their young lives. It was all over.

Serenity smiled, staring at the ground as she continued to walk along the hallway to her old room. She stepped inside, this time she didn't feel the way she used to. She used to be so scared, scared of being killed in her sleep, dieing on her bed after dinner if she were poisoned. This time it felt different, this time she felt more free, as if the things she was always afraid of had just washed away and nothing really mattered.

Arms snaked around her waist from the back, Tala's chin on her shoulder. "Old memories." He whispered.

"Yeah." Serenity agreed, nodding slightly. "I'm kinda gonna miss this place." She started.

"Only a little bit for me." Tala said. Suddenly Serenity laughed slightly, "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Everything in this room is just the way we left it, even the broken window. I wouldn't be surprised if Boris never knew we were ever even knew we were gone." Serenity replied quietly.

"He's an idiot really so whether he realized or not, he sure knows now." Tala said with a grin.

"Yeah, definitely." Serenity quipped, laughing. "Think we should give Mike a tour of the place?" she asked, eyes filled with mischief.

Tala laughed and pulled away from her, grabbing her hand, "I think he's had enough of this place. Especially after it put his daughter through hell and turned us all into assassins." He whispered.

"I guess you're right." Serenity whispered, resting her head against his chest.

"We go?" Tala asked quietly.

Serenity looked around the room, "You go ahead, I'll be outside soon." She replied.

"Sure." Tala whispered, giving her a quick kiss on her cheek and walking out of the bedroom, taking one last look.

Serenity looked around the room, glancing over to the window.

_**---Flashback---**_

_She picked up the big blue blanket from her bed and draped it over her shoulders and pulled it tighter around herself for some warmth in the cold room. She slowly walked over to Tala and climbed onto the window sill and sat next to him. She noted that he was wearing a white short sleeved top like every other night, "Are you cold?" she asked quietly._

_Tala shook his head but it didn't work because his back touched the cold wall behind him and shuddered and with Serenity so close to him, she felt it. Serenity pulled one side of the blanket across his back so they could both share the warmth and use the blanket. She rested her head on his shoulder and held onto his arm tightly and after a while she spoke again in a hushed tone, "Why are you still afraid to tell me when something is bothering you?" she asked, lifting her head off his shoulder to look up at him._

_Tala's ever-blue eyes were staring back at her with deep sorrow in them. He moved his hand from under the cover and slowly moved it up and stroked Serenity's cheek gently. Serenity closed her eyes when she felt the soft hand of her room mate on her skin. Tala's lips crashed down onto hers and she went along with it. She pushed herself closer to him and her hands found their way up his chest._

_Tala deepened the kiss by pulling Serenity closer to him and made sure she didn't move back or else they would have both fallen on Tala's bed that was under the window. Serenity felt Tala's cold hands run down her back; his hands moved down and stopped for a while at her waist. Serenity moved her hands off his chest and placed her hands on his; stopping them from moving any lower. She slowly pulled out of the kiss, resisting the urge to continue on with the kiss and letting it go further but she finally pulled away but still kept her face close to his. "Not now" she whispered, moving his hands higher up her back._

_Tala nodded and Serenity softly kissed him on the lips again but pulled away quickly. She placed the blue blanket on Tala, "Don't stay up too late" she told him before giving him another quick kiss and jumping off the window sill. _

_**---End Flashback---**_

Serenity smiled to herself, _'Good times.' _She thought, laughing.

'_You look at the bed and you'll find even better times.' _Luna joked.

'_Luna!' _Serenity yelled at the intruding bit-beast.

_**---Flashback---**_

'_Please tell me I really didn't just kiss him' Serenity told her bit beast nervously._

'_Ok then, you didn't kiss him' Luna replied normally._

'_But did I?' Serenity asked getting more nervous by the question._

'_Yes you did' Luna said laughing but trying to pull it back a little before it got too far._

'_Oh no, he probably thinks I'm an idiot or something' Serenity said burying her head in her pillow as if she were ashamed of herself over a little peck on the cheek._

'_Or something' Luna said still smiling, quite frankly enjoying her Mistress' little act of shame._

'_Thanks for being so supportive' Serenity said sarcastically._

'_I'm sorry Mistress; don't get yourself worked up over a little kiss' Luna said still with a smile on her young face._

'_Go away, cant you see someone is trying to sleep here' Serenity said sleepily waving her hand as though she were shooing away an actual person from the room, though she still kept her head under the pillow trying to block out the voice of her laughing bit beast._

'_Fine' Luna said before disappearing to the back of Serenity's mind._

_**--- End Flashback---**_

Serenity glanced over to the bed, not seeing or looking for the memories Luna had been referring to, smiling slightly. This whole room was filled with their best and worst times.

_**---Flashback---**_

_Tala came in a few minutes later and quietly lay in bed next to Serenity; she had been staring at the ceiling ever since she had ended her conversation with Luna. He turned his head to look at her but then turned his head back to stare at the ceiling. Serenity turned on her side to look at Tala and lay her head on her arm and started to stroke Tala's shoulder with her index finger. Tala turned his head to look at her, "Is something wrong?" Serenity asked softly._

"_Not in the slightest, why?" Tala replied._

"_You just seem very distant lately and I just thought something was bothering you" Serenity replied softly._

_Tala smiled a little, "You worry too much" he told her._

_Serenity smiled too and moved closer to him, "Hard to believe that it was six years ago when I first told you that" she shot back teasingly._

"_That was six years ago? It seems like just yesterday we met" Tala said._

"_Yeah and look at how far we've got; we have a relationship that no one here can beat and we still don't get into trouble despite the fact of friendship and love being forbidden" Serenity said._

"_Yeah, I guess you're right" Tala replied, he placed his arm around Serenity and she moved her head and rested it on his chest. She kept it there and closed her eyes, listening to the steady beat of his heart. Within an hour they were both asleep, and lay in their current position for most of the night. Serenity woke up in the middle of the night, she lifted her head off Tala's chest and looked up at him and smiled before kissing him quickly and moving away from him, she lay on her side and fell asleep again._

_**---End Flashback---**_

Serenity slowly walked over to the bathroom, opening the door and leaning against the doorway.

_**---Flashback---**_

_Serenity ran into her bedroom and closed the door behind her, "What happened?" Tala asked._

"_It's nothing, I'll be fine" Serenity said leaning against the door as tears slowly streamed down her face._

"_Serenity please tell me what happened." Tala demanded._

"_It's nothing; Boris just threatened me again that's all. I'll be fine" Serenity said again._

_Tala moved forward and wrapped his arm around her thin form and kissed the tears from her cheeks, she pushed away and kissed him softly and quickly on the lips, "Thanks for being here for me" she said quietly, she tightened her hold on him as if trying to hold onto life, she rested her head on his shoulder. _

_**---End Flashback---**_

Serenity shook her head, good times, good feelings. She walked out of her bedroom, walking hurriedly down the dark hall again. _'A part of me is really going to miss being here.' _She walked over to a large window, overlooking the grounds that where covered in pure white snow. Her hand gently rested on the glass, freezing cold at the touch, shivers running through Serenity's body. Outside, Tala could be seen talking to Mike against a black car. The two had been getting along just fine the past few days, maybe Mike finally got through to himself that Serenity wasn't a little girl anymore.

She wasn't really his daughter but she was always like one and he always loved her as though she where his own. She laughed lightly, turning and walking out. She stepped outside, gaining the attention of both Tala and Mike, "What you two talking about?" Serenity asked.

"Nothing." Mike replied simply.

"I saw your lips moving so you were talking about something." Serenity said.

"Well it's not important." Tala said, pulling an arm around Serenity's waist.

Serenity pouted, looking like a young child at the time. She pulled out of his gentle hold, roughly pushed Mike away from the car door and sat in the front seat with her arms crossed.

"Wow she can be so dramatic." Tala whispered.

"She can be so rough!" Mike added quickly, staring at the girl in the car.

Tala smirked, "Get used to it." He told him.

"Hey, where are the other two?" Mike asked suddenly.

"I don't know, haven't seen them ever since we got here." Tala shrugged. He pulled open the car door and peered inside. "You still mad?" he asked quickly.

"Never really was." Serenity replied, grinning.

"Good. Let's go look for the other two love birds." Tala said quickly, placing out a hand for Serenity to take. She did so and quickly hopped out of the car and both walked to the side of the building.

Mike smiled to himself, leaning against the car again. "Cute." He whispered to himself, watching the two run off.

"What's cute?" A female voice asked.

Mike looked around, seeing Karina and Bryan walking up to him from the other direction Tala and Serenity had gone in. "And where did Serenity and Tala go?" Bryan asked.

Mike blinked rapidly, "To look for you." He replied.

"We're not lost." Karina laughed.

"Yeah, I see that." Mike said, "Well, go get them." He ordered.

"Can't we just leave them behind?" Bryan asked, Karina hitting him in the ribs for the second time that day.

"Go get them and don't get lost!" Mike told him, pointing in the direction the other two bladers had gone.

"Fine." Bryan grumbled, letting Karina take his hand and drag him off to get the other two.

**---An Hour Later---**

All four bladers stood by the car next to Mike, staring up one last time at the tall dark building. "Ready to go?" Mike asked.

"By all means, I am." Bryan answered quickly.

"Same." Karina followed.

"Yeah, I think so." Serenity whispered.

"Yeah, I think we can go." Tala added, pulling an arm around Serenity's waste and both went into the car.

"Good, this place is giving me the creeps." Mike shuddered, getting into the car.

Serenity smiled and sat forward from the back seat to look at Mike, "You can see dead bodies but you can't see an Abbey?" She asked, grinning.

"The Abbey which had countless children tortured and killed." Mike added.

**---2 Days Later, in Japan. 11:30pm---**

The apartment lay quiet, everyone except Mike stayed in Serenity and Tala's room. Bryan and Karina lay on the sofa, Karina resting her head on Bryan's chest as the both of them slept soundly, cuddled up together with no worries on their mind of someone finding out and exposing their secret. Now they were free from the ties of the Abbey, which made it a lot easier to sleep.

Tala and Serenity lay on the bed in a similar position, Tala had slept on his side and Serenity had rested her head on his arm that was stretched out across her pillow. Things still felt perfect to them, all of them this time. Now, each of them had something to be happy about, they all felt free, safe and loved now and it was all they ever really wanted. Things were perfect, they still are. Things haven't taken a turn for the worst yet and they were all happy that they could continue with the happiness they got and all deserved.

Serenity's crystal eyes fluttered open, staring right at Tala. She smiled, things felt so perfect and she would never stop thinking that about the whole day. She sat up quietly, glancing over at the other two who had cuddled up to each other on the sofa. _'That's soooo cute.' _Serenity thought, her mind's voice sounding very childish all of a sudden.

A small light shone, and it instantly caught Serenity's attention the second the magnificent light slid past her and out onto the balcony. She gasped, running after it she stood out on the balcony, holding onto the railings as she tried to touch the light but found it too far out of her grip. "What are you?" she whispered to herself.

"Shame on you! Forgetting your own mother." The light scolded, transforming into a young woman, her sparkling dark blue eyes staring down at her daughter, smiling warmly. Serenity curtsied, not looking back up into her mother's eyes. "No need for formalities dear." Her mother told her, laughing quietly. "If you haven't heard, I'm dead." She whispered.

Serenity stood up straight, not smiling as much as her mother. "No disrespects but…why are you here?" she asked.

"Is it wrong for a loving mother to visit her only child?" The Queen asked.

"Well….no I suppose it isn't." Serenity replied.

The Queen smiled, sitting down elegantly on the railings, "So is that him?" she asked, gesturing to Tala who still lay sleeping on the bed.

Serenity turned and laughed, "Yeah, that's him." She replied.

"He's cute."

"Mom!" Serenity said, both laughing quietly.

"I'm just saying he looks nice."

"He's great."

"He helped you get this far so I'm more than sure he is."

Serenity looked up at her mother and smiled, "Things turned out the way you wanted them to?" she asked quietly.

"Exactly the way they were supposed to." Her mother replied, stroking her daughter's cheek gently. "I must go." She informed her sadly.

"Alright. Will you be back?" Serenity asked.

"Next full moon." Her mother whispered, smiling, glad that her daughter still wanted to see her after all that time. With that her mother disappeared in another flash of light and floating away.

Serenity sighed, _'She was so close.' _She thought, tears stinging her eyes. "But she'll be back." She said, nodding to herself reassuringly. She jumped up onto the railings, looking up at the beautiful light of the full moon in the dark sky. She smiled, jumping off the railings and landing perfectly on the rocks bellow, she loved nights like these. If only Tala where there to enjoy it with her, she wanted him there but didn't have the heart to wake him at the time.

She gently dipped her feet into the water, slowly walking out a little. From where she now stood she could see the reflection of the full moon in the water. She smiled innocently and stepped into it, before she could say or do anything her outfit turned into a magnificent white dress, now being soaked in the water at the ends. She stared down at herself, eyes widening quickly, "Mom, you spoil me." She whispered, still shocked.

Tears slipped from her eyes, slowly sliding down her cheeks. Everything came back to her now, the life she had and how this one turned out better than she would have expected. Arms gently wrapped around her waist from behind her, only one person could make her feel this great. She smiled, resting her head back against his shoulder, "My mom was here." She whispered.

"Great mom or bitchy mom?" Tala asked, smirking.

"Great mom, of course." Serenity replied, laughing lightly.

"Hmm, guess I didn't make a very good first impression then." Tala said.

"You were quiet so you made an amazing first impression." Serenity told him.

Tala frowned slightly, "You really can be mean when you want to be." He noted.

"I know but you love me anyway." Serenity smirked.

"Yeah, can't help it though." Tala said, pulling her closer.

"Same here but then…I don't think anyone can really help being in love." Serenity thought.

Tala smirked, "And the proof of that is sleeping huddled up together on our sofa." He said.

Serenity laughed again, seemed to happen a lot since they were free, "Yeah."

They both stood in silence, glancing at each other's expression from time to time. Serenity rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, "I'm getting sleepy." She whispered.

"Let's go back upstairs then." Tala said, taking her hand.

"Good idea genius." Serenity said, letting go of his hand and walking past him, grabbing onto the railings tightly and pulling herself up. "Need help?" she asked Tala.

"Not a chance!" Tala replied, pulling himself up easily.

They both walked back into their bedroom, looking around confusedly as the two younger teenagers where missing. "Maybe they're in the living room?" Tala suggested.

Serenity nodded and quietly opened the bedroom door, peeping into the living room before closing the door again. "Not there." She said.

"Well let's just leave them alone; they're probably in their rooms or out for a walk or something." Tala said, taking her hand and pulling her over to the bed.

"Probably." Serenity agreed, nodding.

Karina and Bryan walked down the path way of the park, both focusing on the ground beneath them, not saying a word to each other ever since Bryan had suggested that they go for a walk. A light blush creeped onto both their faces when Karina gently placed her hand inside Bryan's. Both had been closer to each other but strangely, this time they felt the need to blush even for the littlest thing, maybe because this time they felt much more…human. They weren't fearless or emotionless beings, they were human, apparently very shy humans. "You alright?" Bryan asked quietly.

Karina smiled, looking up at him, "Yeah. Why do you ask?" was her reply.

"You're quiet."

"So are you."

"We're both quiet so we're even." Bryan said, smirking.

Within minutes the young couple sat under a tree in the park, huddled up next to each other the same way as they had slept. "It feels great to be free again." Karina whispered, staring into the sky.

"Yeah." Bryan whispered, holding her closer to him.

"When was the last time we were actually free to do anything we liked?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"You're older, maybe you have more experience."

"Heh, I didn't have any when I was a kid so this is most definitely my first." Bryan said.

"Me too. I don't think it could be any better." Karina smiled, eyes sparkling with happiness.

"Yeah well we grew up in the worst of states, right now, a lot of things outside the abbey can make us happy." Bryan laughed slightly.

"That might be true." Karina agreed, laughing too as she buried her face in Bryan's shoulder. "The best part about this…is that I'm here with you and great friends." She added.

"Cant get any better can it?"

"Cant get any better than this." Karina approved, nodding slightly.

_**The End**_

**A/N: And that's it, my friends. I'll admit, its not the best last chapter but if you like, I can try and re-write it. Till I decide if I can write a sequel or not, this is the end. I hope you enjoyed, as I have had loads of fun writing it for all of you. Thank you to all my readers and reviewers for pushing me to write this, thank you for still reading even after all ym mistakes and boring chapters and thank you for taking your time to read this. **

**Also added here, I put up the lyrics to a song 'We are' by Ana Johnson. Somehow this song really makes me think of the abbey and I thought I'd put it up for everyone else.**

**And a small note to the people who read 'Getting Help': Just to tell you, in the last chapter when Leiko's story is revealed, it is like a side shot to this. Leiko's story is what could have happened to Tala and Serenity if she had been pregnant and they didn't leave.**

**Thank you for everything. I hope that even though I may not continue this with a sequel you still may find some of my other work interesting. //hugs you all//**

**Thanks everyone!**

**Sincerely yours,**

_**Kyra**_

**Phoenix From The Flames 1978**

**P.S: Ray, I know you're going to kill me sooner or later cause I think I have some mistakes in this chapter. Sorry//Runs and Hides//**

_See the devil on the doorstep now (my oh my)  
Telling everybody oh just how to live their lives  
Sliding down the information highway   
Buying in just like a bunch of fools  
Time is ticking and we can't go back (my oh my)_

What about the world today  
What about the place that we call home  
We've never been so many  
And we've never been so alone

(Chorus)  
You keep watching from your picket fence  
You keep talking but it makes no sense  
You say we're not responsible  
But we are, we are  
You wash your hands and come out clean  
Fail to recognise the enemies within   
You say we're not responsible  
But we are, we are, we are, we are

One step forward making two steps back (my oh my)  
Riding piggy on the bad boys back for life  
Lining up for the grand illusion  
No answers for no questions asked  
Lining up for the execution  
Without knowing why

(Chorus)  
You keep watching from your picket fence  
You keep talking but it makes no sense  
You say we're not responsible  
But we are, we are  
You wash your hands and come out clean  
Fail to recognise the enemies within  
You say we're not responsible  
But we are, we are, we are, we are

It's all about power then  
Take control   
Breaking the rule  
Breaking the soul  
They suck us dry till there's nothing left  
My oh my, my oh my

What about the world today  
What about the place that we call home  
We' ve never been so many  
And we've never been so alone... so alone 

(Chorus)  
You keep watching from your picket fence  
You keep talking but it makes no sense  
You say we're not responsible   
But we are, we are  
You wash your hands and come out clean   
Fail to recognise the enemies within  
You say we're not responsible  
But we are, we are, we are, we are

It's all about power then (we are)  
Take control (we are)  
Breaking the rule (we are, we are)  
Breaking the soul (we are)  
They suck us dry till there's nothing left (we are, we are)  
My oh my, my oh my

We are  
We are (its all )  
We are  
We are, we are (take control)  
We are  
We are  
It's all about power  
Then take control


End file.
